Actinopteri (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes
(Puffers and filefishes) > Tetraodontidae
(Puffers) > Tetraodontinae
Etymology: Lagocephalus: Greek, lagos = hare + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335). More on author: Richardson.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range - m (Ref. ), usually - m (Ref. ). Subtropical; 0°C -
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, South Africa, Australia. Introduced (Lessepsian) in eastern Mediterranean, Israel, Lebanon, Iskenderun, Mersin, Aegean Sea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 37.4 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 96317); 43.1 cm TL (female); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450)
Essentially an inhabitant of marine waters, but enters the mouths of rivers (Ref. 4833). Several organs are very toxic, potentially lethal to humans (Ref. 43448).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Tortonese, E., 1979. Tetraodontidae. p. 645-646. In J.C. Hureau and Th. Monod (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 2730)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 124695)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: of no interest
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 21.4 - 28.4, mean 26.8 °C (based on 1189 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02089 (0.01614 - 0.02705), b=2.88 (2.83 - 2.93), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245
Trophic level (Ref. 69278
): 3.7 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100) .