Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi
Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi. A photo of an aquarium fish that is a resident of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Naples, Florida. January 2019.
Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi. Fish caught from coastal waters off Sebastian Florida, Florida, March 2021. Length: 16 cm (6.3 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.
Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi. Fish caught from coastal waters off Lighthouse Point, Florida, December 2020. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.
Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi. Fish caught from coastal waters off Corpus Cristy, Texas, November 2019. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).
The Striped Burrfish, Chilomycterus schoepfi, is a member of the Porcupinefish or Diodontidae Family, that is also known as the Burrfish and the Spiny Boxfish and in Mexico as guanábana rayada. Globally, there are seven species in the genus Chilomycterus, of which four are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The Striped Burrfish has a short round inflatable body that is covered with a relatively few erect, fixed, short thick sharp spines. They are a pale cream to yellowish green to gray in color with many longitudinal to obliquely down thin dark lines on the head and body, 5 to 7 dark blotches on the back with just one below the dorsal fin and one behind the pectoral fin; they lack spotting on the body or fins. Their eyes have iridescent blue-green pupils. The juveniles have blacklines on a yellow background and yellow fins and have a large tentacle over their eyes. Their head is wide and blunt and has disproportionately large eyes, strong parrot-like teeth on both jaws, and a large mouth that opens in the front. Their anal fin has 10 rays and is set toward the rear of the body; their caudal fin is rounded; and their dorsal fin has 12 rays and is set toward the rear of the body; their pectoral fins are large; and, they do not have pelvic fins.
The Striped Burrfish is a solitary demersal species that is found within seagrass beds in sheltered coastal waters and on a limited basis on coastal reefs during colder water episodes at depths up to 76 m (250 feet). They reach a maximum of 33 cm (13 inches) in length and 0.6 kg (1 lb 6 oz) in weight. The juveniles are known to enter brackish waters and can be found in waters with salinities as low as 7 ppt with temperatures between 12oC (54oF) and 38oC (100oF). They are prone to die-offs during cold water episodes that are below 6oC (43oF). They are diurnal predators that consume invertebrates including barnacles, crabs, mussels, oysters, and shrimp and miscellaneous crustaceans. They settle to the sand bottoms at night. Juveniles are pelagic with an open oceanic lifestyle until reaching 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) in length, after which they move to coastal environments and become benthic. They are poor swimmers and move by squirting water out of their gill openings. They are preyed upon by large carnivorous fish including dorados, sharks and wahoos. They are capable of expanding their body size by taking in water and inflating, which they use as an effective defense mechanism. It is unknown if they contain the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin found in other family members, which is believed to help defend them against predation. The Striped Burrfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Striped Burrfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean, however they are not abundant.
The Striped Burrfish can be easily confused with the Web Burrfish, Chilomycterus antillarum (honeycomb network of thin dark lines).
From a conservation perspective the Striped Burrfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. There is some concern that their populations will be adversely affected by habitat loss and degradation, increasing sea temperatures, coastal development, pollution from land, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices, and tourism. Due to the potential presence of tetrodotoxin they are not utilized for human consumption and are NOT sold commercially for food. They are utilized by the aquarium trade at a modest level and require moderate care and large tanks as they are semi-aggressive toward tank mates.