Back Puffer

Lagocephalus sceleratus, commonly known as the Back Puffer or Silver-cheeked Toadfish, is a marine fish belonging to the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. This species is native to the tropical waters of the 🇮🇳 Indian and 🌊 Pacific Oceans but has recently migrated to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal (🇪🇬 Egypt). It is typically found in offshore reefs and sandy bottoms, at a depth range of 18 to 100 meters (59 to 328 feet).

The silver-cheeked toadfish can grow up to 110 centimeters (about 43 inches) in length, with a more common length of around 40 centimeters (16 inches), and can weigh up to 9 kilograms (approximately 20 pounds). It displays a greenish color with brown or black spots on its back, a silver band stretching from its mouth to its tail fin, and a white belly. It features 10 to 13 dorsal soft rays and 8 to 12 anal soft rays.

Despite its harmless appearance, the silver-cheeked toadfish is highly toxic due to a substance called tetrodotoxin, which is mainly found in its ovaries and, to a lesser degree, in its skin, muscles, and liver. This potent toxin can cause paralysis and has been responsible for cases of food poisoning in various countries, including 🇪🇬 Egypt, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇹🇷 Turkey, and Cyprus. As a result, there have been advisories and cautionary statements by authorities in different Mediterranean countries to avoid handling or consuming this fish.

The fish has been spotted in several Mediterranean regions, including 🇮🇱 Israel and southern 🇹🇷 Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Crete, Rhodes, Lampedusa Island, Malta, Montenegro, and even France. More recently, occurrences have been reported around the Strait of Gibraltar and the Adriatic Sea, near Croatia.

The silver-cheeked toadfish has little interest in fisheries or aquaria due to its toxic nature and is mainly recognized for its elongated body and symmetrical tail fin. Its diet consists primarily of organisms that live on the ocean floor, and it produces eggs and larvae found in the pelagic (open water) zone. Despite its toxicity, the presence of this fish in new territories does pose ecological concerns as its population expands.

People are advised to be cautious around this species due to the health risks associated with its toxin.