This Reef Lizardfish snagged itself a prospective lunch. The trouble is, its lunch is a Whitespotted Toby and, like all pufferfish, one mode of defense is to inflate itself so it can’t be swallowed. This toby has done just that and the lizardfish will have a hard job getting that down.
If it is successful, it might still be in trouble since another of the toby’s defenses is a skin toxin which renders it, at best unpalatable, and at worst, deadly!
The Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby is a small pufferfish that’s endemic to Hawaii. Like many small fish, and juveniles of larger fish, they will use the quills of sea urchins to shelter from predators. Not that tobies need too much help. When attacked they inflate themselves like a balloon, making them hard to swallow. In addition, this toby secretes a nasty skin toxin which will deter most predators.
Mostly when I see spotted pufferfish they’re below me and quickly dive even lower. This one was quite high in the water and it was a while before it headed down to the safety of a greater depth.
Ambon tobies are little pufferfishes that are usually found fairly close to shore. This colorful little fish is liberally covered with blue spots and lines.
Usually, I see spotted pufferfish swimming alone, but these three spent some time together as a group. Also unusual was that they were swimming up in the water where they caught the sunlight.
This spotted pufferfish came up to take a little look at me before scooting off to deeper waters. I have yet to see a pufferfish inflated, but this one looked fairly round, even if that’s its normal shape.
These two very distinct fish that are regularly seen near shore. The squaretail filefish on the left is distinguished by the white patch above the base of its tail fin, while the spotted pufferfish is black or brown and covered with small white spots.
These two aren’t traveling together, as some other types of fish do, to hunt or feed. They just happened to be in the same vicinity.
Spotted pufferfish can come in a variety of colors, but around here they’re mostly black or brown with white spots. Their defensive strategy is to inflate into a ball when threatened, thus making it very difficult for a predator to make a meal of them.
Actually, they’re probably doing the predators a favor since pufferfish are extremely toxic. Even very small amounts of the toxins in pufferfish can kill a human. Not surprising then that it’s illegal to serve pufferfish commercially in Hawaii, though it’s considered a delicacy in Japan. There, “fugu chefs” are licensed by the government. The properly-prepared flesh still contains trace amounts of toxins that are supposed to give the diner a warm glow. Goodness only knows what kind of liability insurance a fugu restaurant has to carry.
Graham's Island 