Pufferfish is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong.
Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 50 cm
The pufferfish is a tetraodontid commonly caught as a small shore fish. Its jaw teeth are fused into plates with a median suture in each jaw, making the four teeth that give the family its name, and it can inflate itself greatly with water when alarmed. The toxin sits mainly in the viscera and skin, though some species carry heavy concentrations in the flesh as well, and gutting can carry it from the viscera onto the flesh; it is heat-stable, so cooking, chilling and drying do not destroy it, and farmed fish are not guaranteed free of it.
Caution: contains tetrodotoxin. Never prepare or eat this fish yourself; handling and eating must follow the local food-safety rules.
Back to home · Hong Kong · Species library