category: food/groceries: fish: saltwater fish

Tetraodontiformes, Plectognathi, de.: Kugelfischverwandte, Haftkiefer

The order of Tetraodontiformes is a small zoological order within fish. They have jaws covered with enamel or even containing "teeth". Tetraodontiformes sometimes have a carapace and the openings of their gills are small. Their form differs highly from the streamline body of most fish. Some Tetraodontiformes are triangular, others nearly square, round or laterally compressed. The most important characteristic for kitchen purposes is the poisonousness of the internal organs, especially the liver. Their natural habitat is mostly in tropical seas.

To the order of Tetraodontiformes belong:

• triggerfish (zool.: Balistidae)
• puffer fish (zool.: Tetraodonitidae)
• porcupinefish (zool.: Diodontidae)
• boxfish (zool.: Ostraciidae)
• ocean sunfish (zool.: Molidae)