Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Tetraodontidae (Puffers)
Etymology: Sphoeroides: Greek, sphaira = ball + Greek, suffix, oides = similar to (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 10 - 183 m (Ref. 5951). Temperate; 54°N - 29°N

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 36.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3821)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7. Upper side grey or brown with poorly defined black spots and saddles. Belly yellow to white. Tiny jet-black pepper spots (about 1 mm in diameter) scattered over most of pigmented surface, particularly evident on cheeks. Lower sides with a row of black, elongate, bar-like markings. No lappets on head or body (Ref 53033).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Newfoundland in Canada to northeastern Florida in USA.

Inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters. Sold as `sea squab' in northern part of range. Feeds primarily on shellfish, occasionally on finfish. Reportedly non-toxic.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Matsuura, Keiichi | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial

FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02668 (-0.14926 - 0.20262), b=2.91 (2.81 - 3.00), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 4.0 ±0.66 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.6).

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (24 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Sphoeroides maculatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)