Common toadfish

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Common toadfish
Common Toadfish.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Tetractenos
Species:
T. hamiltoni
Binomial name
Tetractenos hamiltoni

The common toadfish (Tetractenos hamiltoni), also known as the common toado, toadfish or toado , [1] (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 centimetres (5.5 in). [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."[ citation needed ]

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smooth toadfish</span> Species of fish

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Torquigener andersonae, commonly known as Anderson's toadfish, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters of southeastern Australia. It was described by Graham Hardy in 1983, who named it for a colleague at the University of New South Wales, Dr. Jennifer M. E. Anderson. It has been recorded from Jervis Bay and Bermagui on the southern New South Wales coast.

Torquigener vicinus is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters of southwestern Australia.

Torquigener squamicauda, commonly known as the brush-tail toadfish or scalytail toadfish, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters off eastern Australia from Yeppoon in Queensland to Wattamolla just south of Sydney in New South Wales.

Torquigener altipinnis, the highfin toadfish, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters off eastern Australia, from southeast Queensland to Malabar, New South Wales, as well as Norfolk, Lord Howe and Raoul Islands.

Torquigener perlevis, commonly known as the spineless toadfish, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters off northern and eastern Australia from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Georges River and Botany Bay in Sydney, New South Wales.

<i>Arothron reticularis</i> Species of fish

Arothron reticularis, variously known as the reticulated pufferfish, reticulated blowfish or reticulated toadfish, is a ray-finned fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific region where its habitats include sandy and muddy seabeds, coral reefs, estuaries and mangrove areas.

References

  1. 1 2 "Australian Faunal Directory: Tetractenos hamiltoni". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  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.