Northern puffer

Northern puffer
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Sphoeroides
Species:
S. maculatus
Binomial name
Sphoeroides maculatus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, is a species in the family Tetraodontidae, or pufferfishes, found along the Atlantic coast of North America.[2] Unlike many other pufferfish species, the flesh of the northern puffer is not poisonous, although its viscera can contain poison,[1][2] and high concentrations of toxins have been observed in the skin of Floridian populations.[3]: 30  They are commonly called sugar toads in the Chesapeake Bay region, where they are eaten as a delicacy.[4][failed verification] There was widespread consumption of northern puffers during the rationing that accompanied the Second World War, establishing a commercial fishery that reached its zenith in the 1960s.[1][3]: 36–39  In much of the Northeast, the fish is known simply as "blowfish" or "chicken of the sea".[5] They may also be sold as "sea squab".[1][6]

  1. ^ a b c d Shao, K.; Liu, M.; Hardy, G.; Jing, L.; Leis, J.L. & Matsuura, K. (2014). "Sphoeroides maculatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. IUCN: e.T190246A1945870. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T190246A1945870.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Sphoeroides maculatus". FishBase. June 2008 version.
  3. ^ a b Sibunka, John D.; Pacheco, Anthony L. (February 1981). "Biological and Fisheries Data on northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculates (Bloch and Schneider)". Highlands, New Jersey: Sandy Hook Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service. Technical Series Report No 26. Retrieved 29 July 2023 – via NOAA Institutional Repository.
  4. ^ McClane, A.J. (1977). The Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery. Photographs by Arie de Zanger. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 249. ISBN 9780030154317.
  5. ^ Misak, Bob (17 June 2014). "Chicken of the Sea". On the Water. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Northern Puffer". Chesapeake Bay Program Bay Field Guide. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.