Guinean Pufferfish

Sphoeroides marmoratus

The Guinean pufferfish (Sphoeroides marmoratus) is a small pufferfish reaching up to 30 cm. It has a mottled brownish body with darker marbling patterns that provide excellent camouflage against rocky and sandy substrates. Found in the eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Angola, including Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde, and the Canary Islands, it inhabits rocky bottoms, sandy areas, and seagrass beds at depths of 5 to 100 meters. Like all pufferfish, it can inflate its body by swallowing water when threatened, and it contains tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin. It feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, and small invertebrates. Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic divers encounter this species on rocky reef dives and sandy bottoms, where its marbled pattern makes it a challenge to spot until it moves.