Fahaka pufferfish
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = {{Cite journal | author = Akinyi, E. | author2 = Azeroual, A. | author3 = Bousso, T. | author4 = Getahun, A. | author5 = Lalèyè, P. | name-list-style = amp | title = Tetraodon lineatus | journal = The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | volume = 2010 | page = e.T181807A7740095 | publisher = IUCN | date = 2010 | url = http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/181807/0 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T181807A7740095.en | access-date = 14 January 2018| doi-access = free }}
| image = TetraodonLineatus.JPG
| taxon = Tetraodon lineatus
| range_map = Tetraodon lineatus Map.jpg
}}
The fahaka pufferfish (from {{langx|ar|فهقة}}), also known as the Nile puffer, globe fish, lineatus puffer (Tetraodon lineatus), is a tropical freshwater pufferfish found in the upper Nile, Chad, Senegal, Gambia, Geba, Volta and Turkana basins in West, Northeast and East Africa.{{FishBase | genus = Tetraodon | species = lineatus | year = 2017 | month = January}}
Characteristics
File:Tetraodon lineatus 14553852.jpg.]]
Fahaka pufferfish can reach up to {{convert|43|cm|ft|abbr=on|1}} in length. They have the ability to inflate when threatened and, like many puffers, carry the toxin tetrodotoxin.
Fahaka pufferfish, like other molluscivores, feed mainly on benthic organisms which may include freshwater mussels and snails. They are typically found in large rivers, open water, weed beds and vegetated fringes.
In the River Nile, the recorded average lifespans of Fahaka pufferfish have measured about five years.{{Cite journal |last1=AbouelFadl |first1=Khaled |last2=Farrag |first2=Mahmoud M.S. |title=Biology and population dynamics of the freshwater puffer fish, Tetraodon lineatus (Linnaeus, 1758), from the River Nile, Aswan, Egypt. |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejar.2020.09.005 |journal=Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research |date=2021 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=75–80 |doi=10.1016/j.ejar.2020.09.005 |via=Elsevier Science Direct|doi-access=free }}
Researchers AbouelFadl and Farrag have measured the gonadosomatic index of the Fahaka pufferfish to increase from April to August. They have interpreted these readings to suggest a spawning season during this period.
Gallery
File:Tetraodon lineatus 14553846.jpg|Inflated, Ethiopia
File:Tetraodon lineatus - Fahaka Puffer (8767208722).jpg
File:Tetraodon lineatus 1907.jpg|1907 illustration
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2419159}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:pufferfish, fahaka}}