The dwarf pufferfish, also known as the Malabar pufferfish, Carinotetraodon travancoricus is a small, freshwater pufferfish endemic to the River Pamba in Kerala, Southwest India. Average full grown size is 3.18 cm (about 1.25" inch), making it one of the smallest pufferfish in the world.^[1] Although closely related to marine pufferfish, they are not found in brackish or salt water, and reports to the contrary are based on misidentification.^[2] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 460 × 361 pixelsFull resolution (460 × 361 pixel, file size: 146 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Binomial name Carinotetraodon travancoricus (S. L. Hora & K. K. Nair, 1941) The dwarf pufferfish, also known as the Malabar pufferfish, Carinotetraodon travancoricus is a small, freshwater pufferfish endemic to the River Pamba in Kerala, Southwest India. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Classes and Clades See below Male and female Superb Fairy-wren Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Balistidae - Triggerfishes Diodontidae - Porcupinefishes Molidae Monacanthidae - Filefishes Ostraciidae - Boxfishes Tetraodontidae - Pufferfishes Triacanthidae - Triplespines Triacanthodidae - Spikefishes Triodontidae - Three-toothed puffer The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. ... Genera Amblyrhynchotes Arothron Auriglobus Canthigaster Carinotetraodon Chelonodon Colomesus Contusus Ephippion Feroxodon Fugu Gastrophysus Javichthys Lagocephalus Liosaccus Marilyna Monotretus Omegaphora Pelagocephalus Polyspina Reicheltia Sphoeroides Takifugu Tetractenos Tetraodon Torquigener Tylerius Xenopterus For species see Genera articles. ... Species See text. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Sunder Lal Hora (1896 - December 8, 1955) was an Indian ichthyologist. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Genera Amblyrhynchotes Arothron Auriglobus Canthigaster Carinotetraodon Chelonodon Colomesus Contusus Ephippion Feroxodon Fugu Gastrophysus Javichthys Lagocephalus Liosaccus Marilyna Monotretus Omegaphora Pelagocephalus Polyspina Reicheltia Sphoeroides Takifugu Tetractenos Tetraodon Torquigener Tylerius Xenopterus For species see Genera articles. ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ... Pamba River is the third longest river in the South Indian state of Kerala and the longest river in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. ... Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

Appearance

Both sexes are essentially yellow with dark green to black, iridescent patches on the flanks and dorsal surface, but as with other members of the genus sexual dimorphism is apparent, with males and females can be brightly coloured than other dwarf puffers.^[3] The only reliable way to tell a mature male from a female is to look for eye wrinkles (males have them, females never do). Two mature males fighting over mating rights will also develop a strong dark line from their chin to their anal vent. Female (left) and male Common Pheasant, illustrating the dramatic difference in both color and size between the sexes Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. ...

Reproduction

Dwarf pufferfish scatter their eggs on the substrate hidden within vegetation. The eggs are fertilised externally. The male will often guard his eggs for a day or two but will lose interest since the female will continue to be ready for breeding.^[4][5] Baby dwarfpuffers are cannibals and will often kill and eat their younger, smaller siblings. Fry should be kept separated by clutches.

Conservation

Dwarf pufferfish are not used as food but are traded as aquarium fish.^[6] Although not currently on the IUCN Red List some authorities believe this species may be endangered.^[7] The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ...

Diet

The diet of dwarf pufferfish in the wild has not be reported, but other members of the genus feed on zooplankton and various benthic crustaceans and molluscs.^[8] Food items of specimens maintained in aquaria appears to be similar.^[9] Photomontage of plankton organisms Plankton is the aggregate community of weakly swimming but mostly drifting small organisms that inhabit the water column of the ocean, seas, and bodies of freshwater. ... In marine geology and biology, benthos are the organisms and habitats of the sea floor; in freshwater biology they are the organisms and habitats of the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and creeks. ... Classes Remipedia Cephalocarida Branchiopoda Ostracoda Maxillopoda Malacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum. ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora - Chitons Monoplacophora Bivalvia - Bivalves Scaphopoda - Tusk shells Gastropoda - Snails and Slugs Cephalopoda - Squids, Octopuses, etc. ...

Dwarf pufferfish in aquaria

Dwarf pufferfish have become quite popular aquarium fish thanks to their attractive colours, small size, and relative ease of maintenance.^[10]

References

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (67th in leap years). ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (67th in leap years). ...

External links

• "Carinotetraodon travancoricus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. March 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
• Dwarf Puffers A forum for aquarists