Smooth toadfish
| Smooth toadfish | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Tetraodontidae |
| Genus: | Tetractenos |
| Species: | T. glaber |
| Binomial name | |
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Tetractenos glaber (Fréminville, 1813) |
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| Smooth toadfish range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Tetrodon glaber Fréminville, 1813 |
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Tetrodon glaber Fréminville, 1813
Aphanacanthe reticulatus Bibron, 1855
Gastrophysus glaber Bleeker, 1855
Tetrodon hamiltonii Günther, 1870
Sphaeroides hamiltoni Waite, 1906
Sphaeroides liosomus Waite, 1928
Sphaeroides glaber Whitley, 1953
Aphanacanthus hamiltoni Le Danois, 1959
Amblyrhynchotes glaber Halstead, 1867
Torquigener glaber Robertson, 1980
The smooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species of fish in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Christophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with its close relative, the common toadfish (T. hamiltonii). The two are the only members of the genus Tetractenos after going through several taxonomic changes since discovery.
Up to 16 cm (6 1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its dorsal side, the smooth toadfish has a rounded front and tapers to a narrow tail at the back. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs and crustaceans—in sand and mud of the bottom sediment. Often an unwanted catch by anglers, the smooth toadfish is highly poisonous because of the tetrodotoxin present in its body, and eating it may result in death.
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