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Lagocephalus lagocephalus

Pelagic Balloonfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pelagic Balloonfish, Pelagic Puffer, Pelagic Pufferfish, Oceanic Puffer, Rabbit Puffer

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical - subtropics [Cooks & NZ are the only s.Pacific records]

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Open ocean, at the surface. PLUS: ; Marine, pelagic

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Not eaten.; Poisonous to eat?

KEY FEATURES: A round elongate fish, to 50cm SL. Smooth skin, with small extendable spines on the belly. Dark blue-grey above, silver sides and white underside. Fins soft and dark grey. Round fleshy mouth with beak-like teeth.

Enlarged Image of 'Lagocephalus lagocephalus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Tetraodon lagocephalus [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Tetraodontoidea; TETRAODONTIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Not eaten.. Comments: Belongs to a group of toxic fish, the Puffers.
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous to eat?

GENERAL NOTE: Pufferfishes are usually toxic, especially the viscera, gonads and skin. The flesh is often edible, but too easily contaminated with toxin during preparation.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: Paruru Pera 26/3/99, while lamp-fishing for Flyingfishes, 33cm SL, ID/Photo GMc.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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