OSTEICHTHYES: TETRADONTIFORMES: MONACANTHIDAE: Paraluteres

Paraluteres prionurus (Bleeker, 1851)

Valentini mimic puffer

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.

Range: Tropical reefs off Indonesia and northern Australia.

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Description:

Natural History: Mimic puffers are reef-dwelling fishes. Their thin bodies allow then access to narrow crevices in which they hide from potential predators. The long snout gives puffers access to tiny animals that hide in the coral. For those tidbits that the fish cannot readily reach, they use the four huge front teeth (from which the order gets its name "Tetradontiformes," which means "bearing four teeth") to chip away at the coral. Though slow moving and colorful, puffers are also very formidable predators on corals, small crustaceans and marine snails.

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