Shore Buddies Wisdom Wednesday
Photo by @submerged_images
Globefish, or Pufferfish, are characterized by long, tapered bodies, rounded heads, prominent lips and large stomachs. They do not have scales but some of them have spines. They are slow swimmers but can achieve a burst of speed when needed. The largest pufferfish is the stellate pufferfish, which can grow up to 47 inches long or almost four feet, even longer than some sharks or baby crocodiles. Dwarf pufferfish, which are less than an inch long, have a notable ability – they can choose whether to become male or female. At least, the oldest of the lot can. Once a juvenile dwarf pufferfish chooses to be male, the rest are forced to become female. However, in some cases, two develop at the same time and choose to be male at the same time, and so one of them ends up becoming the dominant male. When pufferfish are threatened, they can take in so much air inside their stomachs that they bloat and turn into large, perfect balls up to three times larger!