Australian Burrfish

Allomycterus pilatus

Fish
IUCN: Data deficient

Usual depth52–154 m
Water temperature11–23 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The deepwater burrfish is a porcupinefish of the family Diodontidae, found off southern Australia, central and northern New Zealand, and in the Tasman Sea. It occurs at depths of 40 to 270 m in areas off the continental shelf. The species reaches 50 cm in total length and is reportedly easily entangled in nets due to its spines and ability to inflate its body. It is the only known member of its genus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Deepwater burrfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 8 records
February: 100 records
March: 115 records
April: 113 records
May: 95 records
June: 73 records
July: 95 records
August: 104 records
September: 54 records
October: 96 records
November: 120 records
December: 103 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 52–154 m · Deepest record: 500 m

0–10 m: 3 records
10–20 m: 7 records
20–30 m: 27 records
30–40 m: 40 records
40–50 m: 48 records
50–60 m: 135 records
60–70 m: 135 records
70–80 m: 184 records
80–90 m: 92 records
90–100 m: 47 records
100–110 m: 60 records
110+ m: 735 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–23 °C

10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 87 records
16–18 °C: 21 records
18–20 °C: 102 records
20–22 °C: 108 records
22–24 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Australian Burrfish, Deepwater Burrfish, Deepwater Porcupine Fish, No Common Name, porcupinefish, Small-spined Porcupinefish

Names in 2 more languages

German: Tiefsee-Igelfisch
Japanese: スミツキイシガキフグ

Other scientific names: Allomycterus whiteleyi, Allomycterus whitleyi

Similar species

Balloonfish
Diodon holocanthus
Porcupinefish
Diodon hystrix
Birdbeak burrfish
Cyclichthys orbicularis
Black-blotched porcupinefish
Diodon liturosus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,850 open-data records from 1898 to 2016.

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