Striped burrfish

The striped burrfish or simply burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfii) is a member of the porcupinefish family Diodontidae.

Habitat

It spawns off New Jersey in July. Juveniles are also found in the Chesapeake Bay in the summertime.

Distribution

It is found mostly in the tropics of the western Atlantic Ocean from Brazil to Florida as well as along the Atlantic coast of North America, sometimes as far north as Cape Cod and regularly during the late summer and fall in the vicinity of New York. One has been reported caught on dead shrimp as far as Oyster Lake, near Matagorda Bay, Tx.

Behaviour

It feeds on invertebrates such as oysters, barnacles, mussels, small crabs, and hermit crabs.