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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Silver-cheeked toadfish
Lagocephalus sceleratus
Λαγοκέγαλος

Sustainability Status

High level of toxins

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Health concerns –Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health
Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Legal

Minimum Size

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Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

–

Avoid Consumption Period

–

Advice for Consumption

Consumption of this species is dangerous. This species is NOT safe to consume. It contains a toxin that accumulates in the liver, ovaries and skin.

Archipelagos Tips

Do not consume Belone belone or Coryphaena hippurus. They are a natural predator of Lagocephalus sceleratus.

Common names

FR

Ballon à bande argentée

it

Pesce palla argenteo

es

Pez globo

tr

Balon balığı

pt

Baiacu-prateado

nl

Zilverwangkogelvis

de

Hasenkopf-Kugelfisch

toxicity

This species is not safe to consume, it contains a toxin that accumulates in the liver, ovaries and skin. These toxins can be deactivated after cooking at very high temperatures.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

Torpedo-like body shape. It has 10–13 dorsal soft rays and 8–12 anal soft rays. Its colour is greenish back with brown or black spots, a silver band that runs from the mouth to the caudal fin, a white belly, a silver blotch in front of eye and a black pectoral fin.

It looks similar to other pufferfish species like Lagocephalus suezensis (Suez puffer), Lagocephalus guentheri (Diamondback puffer), and Lagocephalus lunaris (Lunartail puffer).

Did you know?

Be careful when ingesting the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish, as it may have a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin which in extreme cases can trigger paralytic effects!

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Carnivorous.
Feeds on fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and cephalopods.

habitat

Benthopelagic.
Found over sandy bottoms, near offshore reefs.

Max size & depth range

Max length: 110 cm
Max weight: 9 kg
Depth range: 18-100m

breeding & Growth

Gonochoric (seperate sexes). Batch spawners that spawn from May through June.
Growth rate: Slow-moderate (k = 0.24yr⁻¹)

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 6-8 years
Max. Reported Age: 8 years
Distribution: Mediterranean and Indo-West Pacific.

appearance changes

When threatened, it inflates its elastic stomach into a rigid ball. This increases its physical size significantly, making it harder for predators to swallow.

Reproductive Cycle

Egg count: 260,000-2.3 million eggs
Reproductive frequency: Numerous times per spawning season.
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Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms