Lagocephalus lunaris

Lagocephalus lunaris, also known as the lunartail puffer, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae.

It lives in areas in the Indo-Pacific, and its habitat is areas in coastal marine waters, at depths of up to 150 meters, in sandy bottoms, coastal reefs, estuaries and mangroves.

This fish is listed as least concern, due to it overlapping many marine protected areas.

It has a maximum length of 45 centimeters. It eats marine invertebrates as its food source, and contains poison that makes it dangerous to consume.

Endoparasites of the lunartail puffer include Angusticaecum tetrodonti, Bianium arabicum, Bianium plicitum, Caligus laminatus, Maculifer indicus, Neodiploproctodaeum karachiense, Notoporus stunkardi, and Opistholebes amplicoelus.

ENVIRONMENT

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous, Tropical

DISTRIBUTION

Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and Persian Gulf to South Africa, east along the continental shores to western Pacific, from Japan to Australia. Southeast Atlantic: south coast of South Africa.

BIOLOGY

Mainly marine, occasionally enters estuaries.

Occurs over sandy bottoms, often on coastal reefs; feeds on a variety of marine invertebrates.

REPRODUCTION

Oviparous

DESCRIPTION

Description of species. Dorsal rays (total): 11 – 12; Pectoral soft spines: 17 – 18; Anal soft spines: 10 – 11; Caudal soft spines: 8 – 9. Body elongated with broad head; dorsal profile convex; prickles cover extend from interorbital space to origin of dorsal fin and from below anterior margin of eye to front of anus; eyes are large and rounded with free orbital margin on lower side; interorbital space is broad with flat nasal organ and a short papilla with 2 large openings. A skin fold or keel arise from below mouth to middle of caudal fin base; dorsal and anal fins set far back on body; origin of anal fin below anterior region of dorsal fin; caudal fin lunate and caudal peduncle compressed, deeper than wide.

MIGRATION

Oceanodromous. Migrating within oceans typically between spawning and different feeding areas, as tunas do. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.