Marine life  /  Pufferfish & boxfish  /  Bandtail puffer
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Species entry

Bandtail puffer

Sphoeroides spengleri

A small puffer with a row of dark blotches along the lower flank and bars on the tail, sitting on sand and rubble.

Size
To 18 cm
Depth
1–20 m
Habitat
Sand, rubble and seagrass; Blue Heron Bridge
Active
Daylight
Range
Western Atlantic
Rarity
Florida
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
SP-01
bandtail puffer · full body · habitat
4:3 · min 2400px

To about 18 cm, tan with a row of dark blotches along the lower flank and two dark bars across the tail base. It sits on sand, rubble and seagrass rather than hovering, and it relies on being still.

Tetrodotoxin again, and the same point: poisonous rather than venomous, so it is dangerous to eat and harmless to approach. It inflates only as a last resort, and a fish made to do it for a photograph has been put through something costly for a picture of behaviour it does not normally show. This site does not carry photographs taken that way.

Where to find:

LocationRarity Best monthsDepthHabitat
Florida United States editorial estimate
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Year-round
1–20 m
Sand, rubble and seagrass; Blue Heron Bridge
Bahamas Bahamas editorial estimate
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Year-round
1–20 m
Sand and seagrass
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands editorial estimate
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Year-round
1–20 m
Sand and rubble

Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.

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