Why is the pufferfish called pufferfish in the sea? The difference between porcupinefish and pufferfish

Pufferfish have migratory habits and can live in both seawater and freshwater. They have short and thick bodies with very fine spines. When a pufferfish encounters an enemy, the air sac in its abdomen expands rapidly, causing the entire body to float to the surface in a spherical shape, while the spines on its skin stand up to defend itself. There are more than 40 species of pufferfish in my country, most of which belong to the genus Fugu. They are mainly distributed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and coastal rivers. Pufferfish resources are extremely abundant in my country, with about 54 species produced along the coast of China, and they can be seen along the coast almost all year round. Let's take a look together.

Contents of this article

1. Why are pufferfish called pufferfish in the sea?

2. The difference between porcupine and pufferfish

3. Do pufferfish live in the sea or in fresh water?

Why is pufferfish called pufferfish in the sea?

Pufferfish have migratory habits and can live in both seawater and freshwater, so they can also be called pufferfish in the sea. Pufferfish generally live in seawater and freshwater waters between 45°N and 45°S. A few species of pufferfish swim upstream into rivers to lay eggs during the reproductive season and return to the sea in the spring of the following year. They can also settle in the Yangtze River and lakes connected to the river.

There are more than 40 species of pufferfish in my country, most of which belong to the genus Takifugu. They are mainly distributed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and coastal rivers.

Among them, the varieties with higher economic value include: red-fin oriental, false clear oriental, dark-patterned oriental, bow-spotted oriental, chrysanthemum yellow oriental, lead-dotted oriental, etc.

The difference between porcupine and pufferfish

The spines of the porcupine are harder than those of the pufferfish. The pufferfish has a short and thick body with very thin spines. When the pufferfish encounters an enemy, the air sac in its abdomen expands rapidly, causing the entire body to float to the surface of the water in a ball shape, while the small spines on its skin stand up to defend itself. The porcupinefish has a large air sac in its abdomen that contains toxins, and the erected hard spines can stab natural enemies or serve as a warning.

The poisonous parts of porcupine and pufferfish are different: the liver of porcupine fish is highly toxic, while the tendons, skin, and ovaries of pufferfish are all poisonous.

Different growth habits: Spiny porpoises move to the coast in spring and summer to lay eggs in coastal waters. Puffer porpoises enter fresh water and lay eggs in rivers from May to June.

Different distribution areas: Porpoises are mainly distributed in tropical coastal waters, and are also distributed in coastal waters such as the South China Sea. Pufferfish are extremely abundant in my country, with about 54 species found along the coast of China, and can be seen along the coast almost all year round.

Do pufferfish live in the sea or fresh water?

The salt concentration in the body tissues of marine fish is much lower than that in the seawater outside. Since there is a lot of salt in seawater, it has a high specific gravity and density. According to the principle of osmotic pressure, the water in the body tissues of marine fish will continue to seep out from the gills and body surface. In order to maintain the water balance in the body, marine fish have to swallow a lot of seawater to make up for the water loss in the body. However, due to swallowing large mouthfuls of seawater, the salt entering the fish body has also greatly increased. In this way, in addition to excreting some salt from the kidneys, marine fish mainly rely on the "chloride-secreting cells" in the gill tissue to complete the task of salt excretion. In addition, there are also some marine fish, mainly cartilaginous fish, such as sharks, which store the metabolized nitrogen compounds in the blood in the form of urea, which increases the blood concentration and the osmotic pressure becomes equivalent to that of seawater. In this way, there is no problem of swallowing water and excreting salt.

Therefore, as a migratory fish (young fish live in fresh water and adults live in sea water), pufferfish has simply adapted its physiological functions to this kind of life.