Striped burrfish

Striped burrfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Diodontidae
Genus:	Chilomycterus
Species:	C. schoepfi
Binomial name
Chilomycterus schoepfi (Walbaum, 1792)

The burrfish or spiny Boxfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi) is a member of the porcupinefish family Diodontidae.

Description

It is distinguished from the porcupinefish by the shorter, less sharply pointed, and immovable spines which cover the somewhat spherical body. It can inflate its body by taking either air or water into a ventral extension of the stomach. Its color is olivaceous or brownish above and pale yellow below. The back and sides are irregularly striped with brownish, dusky, or black lines which are parallel to each other and which run obliquely downward. There are several large black spots on the sides, one just below the dorsal fin, and another behind the pectoral fin. Its maximum size is about 10 inches.

Distribution

It is found mostly in the tropics from the West Indies to Florida, and is found along the Atlantic coast, sometimes as far north as Cape Cod, and regularly during the late summer and fall in the vicinity of New York.

Habitat

It spawns off New Jersey in July. Juveniles are also found in the Chesapeake Bay in the summertime.

Diet

It feeds on invertebrates such as oysters, barnacles, mussels, small crabs, and hermit crabs.

Fishing technique

It has no commercial value but is occasionally taken by fishermen and stuffed as curio. Some end up in the aquarium pet trade. It occasionally is killed in gill nets and then tossed back by the fishermen. It is often washed ashore along the beach and is a treacherous object if stepped on by mistake with bare feet. Other species of burr and porcupinefish are found in the tropics.

References

• E. C. Raney "Burrfish." The Wise Fishermen's Encyclopedia (1951)