Emory Meyer
English / Science
November 4, 2015
Northern Pufferfish
Sphoeroides maculatus
Sphoeroides maculatus more commonly known as the Northern pufferfish are found in channels margins and are bottom dwellers. It is a cube shaped fish that can be yellow, brown, or olive colored. They are covered in small spines. When they puff up, they inhale water into a special camber near their stomach. Their prey is: shellfish and occasionally finfish. They are heterotrophs, meaning they get energy from other organisms by eating autotrophs or other heterotrophs, they have bilateral symmetry, and they are ectothermic meaning they are cold-blooded. Three adaptations that the Northern pufferfish possess are: one behavioral: they are fierce predators and aggressive hunters. One structural: They puff into a ball for self defense. One functional: They produce one of the most deadliest poisons known to mankind.
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Sphoeroides
Species: maculatus
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