Porcupine Fish
Diodon hystrix
A shy night hunter that becomes a spiky balloon.
Porcupine Fish usually cruise slowly with their long spines folded against the body. When threatened, they gulp water and swell into a prickly ball that is difficult to bite.
Find this SeaPal in the card gallery
From field guide to game table
Bring this Porcupine Fish home
See which ready-to-play decks feature this SeaPal. Try one in the simulator before you buy, or explore each full deck list.
- 1 copy
Ready-to-play deck
Blue Water Deck
Includes 1 card featuring Porcupine Fish.
- 2 copies
Ready-to-play deck
Disruption Deck
Includes 2 cards featuring Porcupine Fish.
- 1 copy
Ready-to-play deck
Coral Garden Deck
Includes 1 card featuring Porcupine Fish.
- 2 copies
Ready-to-play deck
Stinging Fortress Deck
Includes 2 cards featuring Porcupine Fish.
Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- Warm reefs, caves, ledges, and wrecks around the world.
- Favorite foods
- Nighttime meals of snails, hermit crabs, sea urchins, and other shellfish.
- Size check
- Up to 3 ft (91 cm) — about a baseball bat
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
Its fused teeth make a beak strong enough to crack shells.
- 2
The spines lie flat until the fish puffs up.
- 3
Young porcupinefish may drift in floating Sargassum seaweed.
- 4
Black spots cover both the body and fins of this species.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
Inflating makes its modified-scale spines stand straight out.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Look for round eyes, a beak, black speckles, and long folding spines.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.