Spot-fin porcupinefish
Amazing fact
The spot-fin porcupinefish senses water vibrations and movement with an organ along its sides.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The spot-fin porcupinefish senses water vibrations and movement with an organ along its sides.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Spot-fin porcupinefish
- Scientific name
- Diodon hystrix
- Japanese name
- ネズミフグ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Diodontidae
- Genus
- Diodon
A porcupinefish that grows large. It is active at night and hides during the day.
When it senses danger, it swallows water to puff up its body and raises its spines, which developed from scales.
With plate-like teeth, it crunches up even the hard shells of sea urchins and crabs.
How the Spot-fin porcupinefish lives
When young, it lives away from the seabed; as it grows, it starts living on the bottom. It searches for prey in sandy areas, crevices, and caves. Outside the breeding season, it usually lives without forming groups.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: 90 cmLength: 40–91 cm葛西臨海水族園University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Weight
- up to 2.8 kgUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Lifespan
- up to 10 years in captivityUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Sea urchins and crustaceans葛西臨海水族園
- Range
- Temperate to tropical regions worldwide葛西臨海水族園
Where the Spot-fin porcupinefish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ネズミフグ
- 简体中文
- 密斑刺鲀
- 繁體中文
- 密斑二齒魨
- 한국어
- 잔점박이가시복
- Español
- Pez erizo moteado
- Français
- Grand Porc-épic
- Deutsch
- Gepunkteter Igelfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-ouriço
- Italiano
- Pesce istrice
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá Nóc Nhiêm
- Русский
- Длинношипая рыба-ёж
- Türkçe
- Kirpi
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 葛西臨海水族園 — ネズミフグChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Diodon hystrixChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Spot-fin porcupinefish, look for this
- Look for its rounded dorsal and anal fins near its tail fin.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Spot-fin porcupinefish
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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