Taxonomy of Finfish (1+2)

3.3.11.6 Diodontidae (porcupine fishes, Spiny puffers, Balloon fishes)

 

• Body wide and capable of great inflation, covered with spines
• The teeth fused to form a beak-like crushing structure dividing the upper and lower jaws into left and right halves
• No pelvic fins
• Lateral line inconspicuous
• No normal scales

Eg. Chilomycterus reticulatus

Similar Families

No other family has the following combination of characters: Large body spines; no pelvic fins; capability of inflating the body and teeth fused into a single beak-like unit in each jaw, without a median suture dividing upper and lower jaws into right and left halves.