Researchers answer what species are eating Lagocephalus sp. and other pufferfish.

Photo: CC-BY Rickard Zerpe

Pufferfish (as Lagocephalus sp.) are alien and invasive species to Mediterranean. That just not mean that they have very few enemies, but as invasive species they are eating other species and devastating the balance of the ecosystem. 

That means we must find an answer on what species  species are eating Lagocephalus sp. (and other pufferfish) on their native range (i.e. indian ocean) and in Mediterranean?

That question is like a gold for researchers, conservationists, ichthyologists and marine biologists who are interested in this family of fish. And that's because when we know what species are eating pufferfish we might be able to protect those species better, so nature follow it's own road of decreasing naturally those predators (pufferfish).

So, i asked in ResearchGate and below i write the following answers i had these 6 months: (in bold the species which are eating pufferfish)

• Sedat Gündoğdu uploaded a photo of caretta-caretta eating Lagocephalus sp.
• Masud Rana answered: "Tuna"
• Murat Bilecenoglu answered: "Only one potential predator, Coryphaena hippurus, has so far been identified from the Mediterranean Sea​"
• Vladimir Laptikhovsky answered: "Tuna eat a lot of Lagocephalus"
• Me shared a greek article about Garfish eating juvenile Lagocephalus sp. (or other similar pufferfish).
• Sezginer Tuncer has read some information about Belone belone  that it can eat Lagocephalus sp.
• Aylin Ulman answered: "in their native ranges, lizardfish are also a common predator of pufferfish in general, this should be checked in the Mediterranean"
• Kolliyil Sunilkumar Mohamed answered: "Along southwest coast of India, Lagocephalus is eaten mainly by sharks, tuna and cobia (Rachycentron sp)."
• Hasan Deniz Akbora answered: "Generally, large shark species can eat pufferfish species because they are not affected by the toxin TTX"
• Naveen Namboothri answered: "Our study on sea snakes shows that lagocepahlus is a significant part of sea snake diet."