| Threetooth puffer | |
|---|---|
| Illustration of threetooth puffer with extended belly flap | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Triodontidae |
| Genus: | Triodon |
| Species: | T. macropterus |
| Binomial name | |
| Triodon macropterus Lesson, 1831 |
|
The threetooth puffer, Triodon macropterus, is a tetraodontiform fish, the only living species in the genus Triodon and family Triodontidae. Other members of the family are known from fossils stretching back to the Eocene.[1]
It is native to the Indo-Pacific, where found at depths down to 300 metres (980 ft).[2] Its name comes from the Greek tria meaning "three" and odous meaning "tooth", and refers to the three fused teeth making up a beak-like structure.
The threetooth puffer reaches a maximum length of 54 centimetres (21 in).[2] It has a distinctive shape, with a huge belly flap as large as or larger than its body; it inflates this with seawater when threatened. The flap bears an eye-spot, and is inflated by rotating the shaft-like pelvis downwards. This makes the animal appear much larger to predators, and less likely to be eaten.[1]