PORCUPINEFISH
Diodon holocanthus
Among the specimens displayed in the showcases of fish, one of the most interesting species is certainly the Porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus) This peculiar fish lives in all the tropical seas in the Earth not far away from the coral reef. Beside feeding on molluscs and crustaceans, it mainly eats coral octopuses. In order to succeed in breaking its hard exoskeletal structure, it has developed a strong beak where the teeth are fused together to form only two plates, transforming the mouth into a kind of pincer. But the most peculiar feature of this fish is its ability to swallow water in its stomach until it takes a spheric shape, like its “cousin” the Pufferfish (Arotron hispidus), which is also in the showcase. As we can see in the embalmed findings, one at rest and one bulge on almost the entire body erectile bony spines are visible that are normally adherent to the body. When the animal swells its spines lift up turning the fish into an unappetizing thorny ball. Anotherfeature the porcupine and the puffer fish share is the presence of tetradoxin in their entrails, a neurotoxin that makes them deadly poisonous Nevertheless the Pufferfish, if suitably handled, is the basis for Fugu, one of the typical dishes of Japanese cuisine.
