Common toadfish

Common toadfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Tetractenos
Species: T. hamiltoni
Binomial name
Tetractenos hamiltoni
(J. Richardson, 1846)

The common toadfish or common toado or toadfish or toado[1] (Tetractenos hamiltoni, formerly classified as Tetrodon hamiltoni[2][3] or Torquigener hamiltoni) is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae of order Tetraodontiformes, found along Australia's eastern coast, from northern Queensland to Flinders Island, and around Lord Howe Island,[1] as well as in New Zealand waters. It often buries itself in sand with only its eyes exposed.[4]

The fish is sandy to whitish in colour, with small brown spots over most of the back and upper sides, and brown bars and blotches beneath.[5] It has a maximum length of 14 cm.[4] It is similar in appearance to the smooth toadfish, but has smaller spots and more prominent spines in the skin.[5]

Like some other fish, the common toadfish is able to vary the amount of pigment in its cornea, which becomes yellow in colour under bright light.[6]

It is (rarely) used as an aquarium fish for brackish-water aquariums. Along with related toadfish species, it is known in Australia as a "toadie."

As with other fish of this family, the flesh is poisonous, due to tetrodotoxin, and eating the fish can have fatal consequences.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Faunal Directory: Tetractenos hamiltoni.
  2. ↑ World Register of Marine Species - Tetractenos hamiltoni (Richardson, 1846), accessed 8 March 2010.
  3. ↑ G.S. Hardy, "Revision of Australian species of Torquigener Whitley (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), and two new generic names for Australian puffer fishes," Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 13, No. 1/2, 1983, pp. 1–48.
  4. 1 2 Fishbase - Tetractenos hamiltoni, accessed 8 March 2010 (find mirrors).
  5. 1 2 Australian Museum: Common Toadfish.
  6. ↑ Ulrike E. Siebeck, Shaun P. Collin, Majid Ghoddusi, and N. Justin Marshall, "Occlusable corneas in toadfishes: light transmission, movement and ultrastruture of pigment during light- and dark-adaptation," Journal of Experimental Biology, Volume 206, 2177-2190 (2003).
  7. ↑ Puffer fish poisoning: a potentially life-threatening condition, accessed 8 March 2010.
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