Feroxodon multistriatus (Richardson, 1854)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Feroxodon multistriatus, known as the manystriped blowfish, manystriped pufferfish, scribbled toadfish, or ferocious pufferfish, is a species in the pufferfish family, Tetraodontidae, distributed in the Indo-West Pacific. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Feroxodon.
The fish has sloping, thin, brown and white lines on the head and body curving toward the tail. The lower head, body and caudal peduncle are spotted. The maximum size is reported as 39 cm (15 in) to 90 cm (3 ft).
The fish occurs throughout the Indo-Western Pacific, including New Guinea, and is recorded from Western Australia south to New South Wales.
In spite of its small size, this fish is known to make unprovoked attacks on humans, the inspiration for the common name ferocious pufferfish. One such attack near Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia, caused severe damage to the toes of a five-year-old boy.
This fish "inhabits shallow inshore waters and offshore soft bottoms. Feeds on fish and invertebrates. Highly toxic and is responsible for amputation of swimmers toes."
Wikipedia contributors, Feroxodon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:33:06.359658+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Feroxodon multistriatus (Richardson, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1854)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Genus
- Feroxodon
- 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
- genusFeroxodon Su, Hardy & Tyler, 1986
- speciesFeroxodon multistriatus (Richardson, 1854)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anchisomus multistriatus Richardson, 1854 Richardson, 1854 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=280778 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:6HQL9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.