Editing Tetraodontidae (section)

== Morphology ==
Pufferfish are typically small to medium in size<!-- all round{{vague|date=June 2020}} -->, although a few species such as the [[Mbu pufferfish]]<!-- {{which|date=August 2017}} --> can reach lengths greater than {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Keiichi, Matsura  |author2=Tyler, James C. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 230–231|isbn= 978-0-12-547665-2}}</ref>

[[Tetraodontiformes]], or pufferfish, are most significantly characterized by the beak-like four teeth – hence the name combining the Greek terms "tetra" for four and "odous" for tooth.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Puffer {{!}} fish {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/puffer |access-date=2023-02-02 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Each of the top and bottom arches is fused together with a visible midsagittal demarcation, which are used to break apart and consume small [[Crustacean|crustaceans]]. The lack of ribs, a pelvis, and pelvic fins are also unique to pufferfish. The notably missing bone and fin features are due to the pufferfish' specialized defense mechanism, expanding by sucking in water through an oral cavity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brainerd |first1=Elizabeth L. |last2=Patek |first2=Sheila N. |date=1998 |title=Vertebral Column Morphology, C-Start Curvature, and the Evolution of Mechanical Defenses in Tetraodontiform Fishes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1447344 |journal=Copeia |volume=1998 |issue=4 |pages=971–984 |doi=10.2307/1447344 |jstor=1447344 |issn=0045-8511}}</ref>

Pufferfish can also have many varied structures of [[caltrop]]-like dermal spines, which account for the replacement of typical fish scales, and can range in coverage extent from the entire body, to leaving the frontal surface empty.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shono |first1=Takanori |last2=Thiery |first2=Alexandre P. |last3=Cooper |first3=Rory L. |last4=Kurokawa |first4=Daisuke |last5=Britz |first5=Ralf |last6=Okabe |first6=Masataka |last7=Fraser |first7=Gareth J. |date=2019-09-27 |title=Evolution and Developmental Diversity of Skin Spines in Pufferfishes |journal=iScience |language=English |volume=19 |pages=1248–1259 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2019.06.003 |issn=2589-0042 |pmc=6831732 |pmid=31353167|bibcode=2019iSci...19.1248S }}</ref> Tetraodontidae typically have smaller spines than the sister family [[Porcupinefish|Diodontidae]], with some spines not being visible until inflation.