Tetraodontidae

smooth blaasop

Lagocephalus inermis

Black mark at gill opening

• Black
• Tropical
• Transcontinental
• Marine fish
• Pacific Ocean
• Africa
• East Asia
• Oceania
• Deep-bodied
• Large
• Tropical fish

Lagocephalus inermis, known as the smooth blaasop, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae native to the Indo-Pacific. It is a marine species that ranges from Algoa Bay in South Africa to southern Japan, where it occurs at a depth range of 10 to 200 m (33 to 656 ft) and inhabits the edge of the continental shelf. It is a very large pufferfish, reaching 90 cm (35.4 inches) SL. It closely resembles the Atlantic species Lagocephalus laevigatus, but it can be distinguished from that species by its black gill opening.