Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Diodon holocanthus
pez erizo balón, pejerizo enmascarado, Balloonfish, barred porcupinefish
Brown to olive. Dusky band between eyes. May have dusky blotches or bands on back. Iris is yellow; pupil has iridescent blue-green specks. Spines usually lowered, but can become erect without inflation. Size: To at least 45 cm
Habitat: Solitary; coral-reef habitats
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Tetraodontiformes
Family
Diodontidae
Genus
Diodon
Species
holocanthus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Atopomycterus bocagei Steindachner, 1866, Diodon hystrix holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758, Diodon maculifer Kaup, 1855, Diodon multimaculatus Cuvier, 1818, Diodon novemmaculatus Cuvier, 1818, Diodon paraholocanthus Kotthaus, 1979, Diodon pilosus Mitchill, 1815, Diodon quadrimaculatus Cuvier, 1818, Diodon sexmaculatus Cuvier, 1818, Paradiodon quadrimaculatus (Cuvier, 1818), Trichodiodon pilosus (Mitchill, 1815), fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Native
Distribution: Circumtropical; in the eastern Pacific from California to Ecuador including Galapagos, also Cocos, Easter and Revillagigedos
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 April 2010.
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
- Edgar, G.J. Fariña, J.M., Calvopiña, M., Martínez, C. & Banks, S. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas II: Peces y macroinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 68-97.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Diodon holocanthus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7839. Accessed 8 May 2025.