marbled puffer
Sphoeroides dorsalis Longley, 1934
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Marbled puffer (Sphoeroides dorsalis) from the Gulf of Mexico
SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC (@Flickr:NOAA Photo Library) · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Sphoeroides dorsalis, known as the marbled puffer, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the Western Atlantic, where it ranges from North Carolina to Suriname and occurs at a depth of 18 to 100 m (59 to 328 ft). It is a demersal oviparous species found over soft bottoms that reaches 20 cm (7.9 inches) in total length.
Wikipedia contributors, Sphoeroides dorsalis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:12:44.347743+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sphoeroides dorsalis Longley, 1934
- Name authority
- Longley, 1934
- Common name
- marbled puffer
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Genus
- Sphoeroides
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTetraodontiformes
- suborderTetraodontoidei
- familyTetraodontidae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusSphoeroides Anonymous [Lacepède], 1798
- speciesSphoeroides dorsalis Longley, 1934
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sphoeroides. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sphoeroides andersonianus Morrow, 1957 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bullseye pufferSphoeroides annulatus (Jenyns, 1842) | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphoeroides greeleyi Gilbert, 1900 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphoeroides kendalli Meek & Hildebrand, 1928 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| naked pufferSphoeroides lispus Walker, 1996 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longnose pufferSphoeroides lobatus (Steindachner, 1870) | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blunthead pufferSphoeroides pachygaster (Müller & Troschel, 1848) | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| least pufferSphoeroides parvus Shipp & Yerger, 1969 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peruvian pufferSphoeroides sechurae Hildebrand, 1946 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| checkered pufferSphoeroides testudineus (Linnaeus, 1758) | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| pygmy pufferSphoeroides trichocephalus (Cope, 1870) | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphoeroides yergeri Shipp, 1972 | TetraodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Longley, W. H. (1934). Studies on West Indian fishes: description of six new species. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publications, 33: 257–260. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4Z2FS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.