Threebar Porcupinefish, Dicotylichthys punctulatus Kaup 1855

Other Names: Balloonfish, Balloon-fish, Burrfish, Burr-fish, Myer's Porcupinefish, Myer's Porcupine-fish, Spotted Porcupine Fish, Three Banded Porcupinefish, Three-bar Porcupinefish, Three-bar Porcupine-fish, Threebarred Porcupinefish, Three-barred Porcupinefish

A Threebar Porcupinefish, Dicotylichthys punctulatus, at Clifton Gardens, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, July 2015. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A greenish to bluish-grey porcupinefish covered in small black spots, with a white belly, a dark back, three dark bars on sides - one below the eye, a second on the gill cover and a third behind the pectoral fin.
The Threebar Porcupinefish has blade-like fixed spines on the back, and movable spines on the head and belly.

Video of a Threebar Porcupinefish

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2020, Dicotylichthys punctulatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 15 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/474

Quick Facts

CAAB Code:37469013

Depth:1-50 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:40 cm SL

Native:Endemic

Species Image Gallery

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Distribution	Coolum Beach, southern Queensland, to Wilsons Promontory (and occasionally west to Port Phillip), Victoria, and northern Tasmania. Inhabits estuarine, coastal and offshore reefs at depths to 50 m.
Features	Body with blade-like, fixed immovable spines, their bases having 3 roots arranged in a tripod fashion on the back, those on the belly and head able to be raised.
Size	The spines on the back are blade-like and fixed in position, but those on the belly and head can be raised. It has a very broad head, with eyes positioned laterally. The teeth are fused to form a single plate in both jaws. The species is green to blue-grey above and white below. The body is covered with small black spots. There is a dark bar under the eye, another on the operculum and a third on the body behind the pectoral fin. This species looks similar to the Spotfin Burrfish, Chilomycterus reticulatus. The latter species has spots on the fins and has fewer spines on the head and body. Although there is some overlap in distribution, the Spotfin Burrfish generally occurs in tropical waters and the Threebar Porcupinefish is found in more temperate waters of Australia's east coast.
Feeding	Feeds on benthic ionvertebrates.
Similar Species	The similar Spotfin Burrfish, Chilomycterus reticulatus has spots on the fins and fewer spines on the head and body.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin punctulum and -atus (= with small spots, dots), presumably in reference to the fine black spots on the body.
Species Citation	Dicotylichthys punctulatus Kaup 1855, Archiv für Naturgeschichte 21(1): 230. Type locality: Australia (although the type locality is listed as Cape of Good Hope, South Africa; Mauritius, the species is an Australian endemic)
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Threebar Porcupinefish, Dicotylichthys punctulatus Kaup 1855