Japanese pufferfish

Amazing fact

Japanese pufferfish remember where they lived when young and return nearby to lay eggs.

大阪府立環境農林水産総合研究所

Japanese pufferfish in its habitat (illustration)

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An illustration based on the real animal.

A little discovery to share.

Japanese pufferfish remember where they lived when young and return nearby to lay eggs.

Source大阪府立環境農林水産総合研究所 — トラフグ

THE REAL WORLD

The real Japanese pufferfish

Scientific name: Takifugu rubripes
Japanese name: トラフグ
Group: Ocean animals

Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Takifugu

Facts about the real animal.

It lives in coastal waters from Hokkaido to Kyushu in Japan, and around the Korean Peninsula, China and Taiwan.

鳥羽水族館 — トラフグ

Its ovaries, liver, intestines and some other organs contain poison.

鳥羽水族館 — トラフグ

Among pufferfish, it is known as a luxury food fish sold at especially high prices.

鳥羽水族館 — トラフグ

How the Japanese pufferfish lives

Young fish spend their time in river mouths. As they grow, they travel far from Osaka Bay to the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. They eat shellfish, starfish, small fish and other animals. They are said to burrow into sand when resting or sleeping.

大阪府立環境農林水産総合研究所市立しものせき水族館海響館

Basic data

Range: Coasts from Hokkaido to southern Kyushu, the Seto Inland Sea, northern East China Sea, and elsewhere

鳥羽水族館

Where the Japanese pufferfish has been recorded

Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF

Where it livesJapan Asia Coasts Ocean

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: トラフグ
简体中文: 红鳍东方鲀
繁體中文: 紅鰭多紀魨
한국어: 자주복
Español: Fugu chino
Português (Brasil): Fugu-comum
Italiano: Torafugu
Русский: Бурый скалозуб

Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.

Sources and how we check

鳥羽水族館 — トラフグChecked: 2026-11-03
市立しものせき水族館海響館 — トラフグChecked: 2026-11-07
大阪府立環境農林水産総合研究所 — トラフグChecked: 2026-11-07

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.

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