Smooth toadfish

Smooth toadfish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Tetraodontidae
Genus:	Tetractenos
Species:	T. glaber
Binomial name
Tetractenos glaber (Fréminville, 1813)
Smooth toadfish range
Synonyms
Tetrodon glaber Fréminville, 1813 Aphanacanthe reticulatus Bibron, 1855 Gastrophysus glaber Bleeker, 1855 Tetrodon hamiltonii Günther, 1870 Sphaeroides hamiltoni Waite, 1906 Sphaeroides liosomus Waite, 1928 Sphaeroides glaber Whitley, 1953 Aphanacanthus hamiltoni Le Danois, 1959 Amblyrhynchotes glaber Halstead, 1867 Torquigener glaber Robertson, 1980

The smooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species of fish in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Christophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with its close relative, the common toadfish (T. hamiltonii). The two are the only members of the genus Tetractenos after going through several taxonomic changes since discovery.

Up to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its dorsal side, the smooth toadfish has a rounded front and tapers to a narrow tail at the back. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs and crustaceans—in sand and mud of the bottom sediment. Often an unwanted catch by anglers, the smooth toadfish is highly poisonous because of the tetrodotoxin present in its body, and eating it may result in death.