CATDOLL : CATDOLL: The difference between porcupinefish and pufferfish

1. The difference between porcupine and pufferfish

1. Pufferfish, commonly known as bubble fish, blow-belly fish, river fish, clam fish, air-drum fish (Jiangsu, Zhejiang), good fish (Guangdong), chicken bubble (Guangdong), turtle fish (Guangxi), street fish (read in Minnan dialect) (Fujian), wax head (Hebei), boat mackerel. It was called lungfish in ancient times. Generally refers to fish belonging to the families Dicynodontidae, Tricynodontidae, Tetracynodontidae and Cercocarpidae in the order Trichodea. Pufferfish are warm temperate and tropical offshore bottom fish that live in the middle and lower layers of the ocean. A few species enter freshwater rivers. When encountering an external enemy, the abdominal air sac expands rapidly, causing the entire body to float to the surface of the water in a spherical shape, and the small spines on the skin stand up for self-defense.

2. The porcupine, also known as the small hard-jawed fish. The longest is about 90 cm. It is a close relative of the river porcupine. It has a large air sac in its abdomen and mostly lives in tropical coastal areas. It has hard spines all over its body and is mostly brown in color. Representative species include the white-bellied porcupine and the brown-bellied porcupine (L.wheeleri). Among them, the adult white-bellied porcupine is smaller than the general porcupine.

The porcupine fish lives in deep-sea coral reefs. It is a hedgehog-like fish with a special body structure. There is an air apex that expands backward into a ribbon under the intestines. When in danger, it will open its mouth to inhale air or a large amount of seawater, and then its head and abdomen will swell up, and the thorns on its body will stand up. Its enemies have no way to eat it, so they have to give up this thorny delicacy, because they will inevitably be stabbed by the porcupine's hard thorns if they bite from any direction. After the danger is over, the porcupine will expel air or seawater from its gill holes and mouth to restore its body to normal. The porcupine fish, which is covered with thorns like a hedgehog, is non-toxic and can be eaten with confidence. It has delicious meat and its thorny skin can be used as medicine when dried to treat nephritis. It is a good dish for health care. It is sold at a high price in Sanya seafood stores. It also has a common name called "tiger fish" by local people in Sanya. Like other fish of the order, it feeds on crustaceans, shellfish, young fish, etc.

The porcupine, also known as the small hard-jawed fish, is a small fish with a body length of only 90 cm. It is a close relative of the familiar pufferfish. It has a large air sac in its abdomen, and the scales on its body have become long hard spines. It mostly lives in tropical coastal areas. The porcupine (the same type as the pufferfish in freshwater) contains toxins in its body. When frightened, it puffs up its body like a hedgehog to scare away the enemy.

Pufferfish, also known as "bubble fish". Its ancient name is "\鲐 (hóu tái)", and its aliases are also called "fish", "bubble fish", "spicy head fish", "small jade spot", "big jade spot", "black wolf", etc. in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, "Chengyu", "chicken bubble", "turtle fish" in Guangdong, "good fish" in Chaoshan area of ​​Guangdong, and "la head" near Hebei. Pufferfish looks like a river, but in modern animal taxonomy, the two are classified as aquatic animals of different orders. Pufferfish are collectively called pufferfish in Europe and the United States because this fish will fill its body with water/air to scare away the enemy when it encounters danger. Pufferfish are very popular among the Pirates of the Caribbean and other pirates because they often regard pufferfish as mascots. This is particularly highlighted in the Adventures of Treasure Island. Pufferfish have a short and thick body. Pufferfish have very thin spines. The tough and thick skin of pufferfish was once used to make helmets. The teeth of pufferfish, upper and lower jaws are connected separately, like two sharp blades. This allows pufferfish to easily bite the shell of hard coral. Pufferfish are mostly tropical marine fish, and only a few species live in fresh water. Once pufferfish are threatened, they will swallow water or air to swell their bodies into a spiky ball, which is difficult for natural enemies to bite. The internal organs of many species of pufferfish contain a neurotoxin that can kill people. Some people have measured the toxicity of pufferfish toxin. Its toxicity is equivalent to 1250 times that of highly toxic drugs! Only 0.48mg is needed to kill people! In fact, pufferfish muscles do not contain toxins. The most toxic parts of pufferfish are ovaries and liver, followed by kidneys, blood, eyes, gills and skin. The toxicity of pufferfish is also related to its reproductive cycle. Pufferfish carrying eggs in late spring and early summer are the most toxic. This toxin can cause nerve numbness, vomiting, cold limbs, and then heart and breathing cessation. There are reports of people dying from eating puffer fish both at home and abroad. Of course, eating puffer fish is life-threatening, but because puffer fish tastes so delicious, there are still many gluttons who risk their lives to eat puffer fish.

2. The difference between pufferfish stripes and dark patterns

The difference between pufferfish stripes and dark patterns is the different markings on the back and sides of the body.

Striped puffer: has dark patterns or stripes, is relatively cheap, has a gray-brown back, slightly yellowish-brown sides, and a white belly.

Pufferfish refers to fish of various genera in the order Osteichthyes, order Anguidae, and family Porphyriae. The body of pufferfish is cylindrical, gradually narrowing towards the back, with naked scales or covered with thorny scales, one dorsal fin without spines, opposite to the anal fin, no pelvic fins, and a truncated, rounded, or crescent-shaped caudal fin. The body color and pattern vary with the species. Pufferfish are widely distributed around the world, with many varieties, about 200 species, of which more than 40 species are found in my country, most of which belong to the genus Oriental. Pufferfish are distributed in my country's temperate, tropical, and subtropical seas, mainly in the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, and coastal rivers. There are many types of pufferfish in my country, and there are as many as 16 Oriental species distributed in the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, and East China Sea. The varieties with higher economic value include: red-fin oriental, false clear oriental, dark-marked oriental, bow-spotted oriental, chrysanthemum yellow oriental, lead-dotted oriental, leopard-marked oriental, yellow-fin oriental, insect-patterned oriental, etc. Among them, the red-fin oriental and false clear oriental are the best-selling in the international market.

3. Is pufferfish a freshwater fish or a saltwater fish?

Pufferfish. It is a kind of freshwater fish. Some species live in the ocean. Because of its dolphin-like appearance and its frequent activities in river mouths, it is commonly known as pufferfish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, while it is called Tingba in Shandong, Latou in Hebei, Guaiyu or Jibao in Guangdong, and Guiyu in Guangxi.

River fish are widely distributed all over the world, with many varieties, about 200 species, of which there are more than 40 species in my country, most of which belong to the genus Oriental. Puffer fish are distributed in my country's temperate, tropical and subtropical seas, mainly in the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea and coastal rivers.

From the appearance point of view, pufferfish are cute and adorable. When they feel dangerous or squeezed by people, they will inhale gas or water to make themselves swell up, giving people a plump and puffy feeling. But if you underestimate it, you are wrong.

Although the pufferfish is small in size, its teeth are extremely sharp. In addition to being able to easily bite through the lids of cans, it can also easily bite through crustaceans such as crayfish and crabs. As for other small fish, they are even easier to catch. When we encounter pufferfish while fishing, not only can the sub-line be easily bitten off, but even the fish hooks are often bitten off by it.

However, the most deadly thing about dolphins is the toxin they carry - tetrodotoxin (TTX).

The toxicity of pufferfish toxin is 1,250 times that of potassium cyanide. It is a highly lethal neurotoxin for which there is still no antidote. The toxicity is higher in wild pufferfish before the spring spawning season, and the toxin level in male pufferfish is usually lower than that in female pufferfish.

In addition, the liver and ovaries of pufferfish are the most toxic, followed by the kidneys, blood, eyes, gills and skin, testicles, meat and other parts. It can be said that the toxins in pufferfish are spread throughout the body, but the amount contained in different parts varies.

The earliest record of pufferfish can be traced back to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the middle and late Warring States Period, which contains a related record: "Pufferfish is highly poisonous. Although it tastes delicious, it can kill people if eaten if not prepared properly."

Although pufferfish is highly poisonous, its delicious taste makes people want to eat it, so much so that many people are willing to risk their lives to try it. Su Dongpo once said after tasting pufferfish: "The taste is so good that it makes me laugh to death!"

However, for safety reasons, eating puffer fish was banned in China before 2016. At that time, there were more than 20 species of puffer fish approved for consumption in Japan.

It was not until April 13, 2016 that the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, and the State Food and Drug Administration held a hearing on the "Notice on Conditional Liberalization of Farmed Pufferfish Production and Operation". According to the provisions of the "Notice", only two types of artificially bred pufferfish, red-finned pufferfish and dark-marked pufferfish, were open to the public.

Compared with wild pufferfish living in the natural environment, artificially farmed pufferfish are subject to extremely strict human control in terms of the water they live in and the food they consume. This is the main reason why the toxin content in artificially farmed pufferfish is relatively low, but this does not mean that artificially farmed pufferfish are non-toxic.

It is understood that in Japan, chefs who handle puffer fish are required to be certified. They must obtain a professional qualification certificate issued and recognized by the state, and they also need to undergo at least 5 years of professional training. This is because when handling puffer fish, strict standardized processing is required. The entire processing step involves more than 30 steps. The purpose of this is to minimize the possibility of poisoning from eating puffer fish.

Although puffer fish is delicious, it is not worth it to take huge risks to eat it in my opinion. After all, puffer fish is not the only beautiful thing in the world.

There are species that live in fresh water, and there are also species that live in sea water. The scientific name of pufferfish is river, which is a temperate and tropical offshore bottom fish, often living in the middle and lower layers of the ocean. Some pufferfish species live in fresh water. When encountering external dangers, pufferfish's self-defense method is to quickly inflate the entire body to float to the surface of the water in a ball shape, and at the same time the small spines on the skin stand up, so it is also called bubble fish.

River fish refers to fish of various genera in the class, order, and family of bony fish. Its meat is delicious and nutritious, and it is a precious high-end aquatic product, known as the best dish. However, its ovaries, liver, kidneys, eyes, and blood contain highly toxic substances. If improperly handled or eaten by mistake, it can cause mild poisoning or even death. Because it looks like a dolphin and often moves around river mouths, it is commonly known as pufferfish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, while it is called boatfish in Shandong, latou in Hebei, good fish or chicken embrace in Guangdong, and turtle fish in Guangxi.

Additional information:

The river (Tetraodontidae; puffer fishes) is a general term for fish of the class of bony fishes, commonly known as pufferfish. Since ancient times, the pufferfish eaten in China have all lived in rivers. They are named pufferfish because of the squeaking sound similar to that of a pig when they are caught out of the water. There are also "bubble fish", "blowing belly fish", "puffer fish", "air-drum fish" (Jiangsu and Zhejiang), "good fish, chicken bubble" (Guangdong), "chicken hug" (Guangdong), "turtle fish" (Guangxi), "street fish" (read in Minnan dialect) (Fujian), "wax head" (Hebei), "boat fish" and other names. In ancient times, it was called "lung fish".

Pufferfish can live in both fresh water and sea water, and in brackish water, so we cannot simply say that pufferfish are freshwater fish or seawater fish.