Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

PORCUPINE FISH

(Allomycterus jaculiferus).

This belongs to a group of poisonous tropical fishes which have the ability of greatly inflating themselves when molested; long sharp spines embedded in the skin then become rigidly erect, as a means of defence. It is frequently trawled in North Island waters. It is white, often blotched, and spotted with brown and yellow.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

Co-creator

Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.