Saved by Its Stomach!

IT IS not fast. To many people it is definitely not pretty. But, oh, what a stomach it has! What are we talking about? The spiny puffer, also called the balloonfish and the long-spine porcupinefish. When threatened, this creature “undergoes a remarkable transformation,” says Natural History magazine. Its body, which grows to about 20 inches [50 cm] in length, swells “until the fish is three times its usual size and has become a rigid, near-perfect sphere covered in spiky armor​—not a good design for swimming but decidedly discouraging to attackers.”

The fish inflates itself by pumping water into its stomach, which expands to nearly a hundred times the normal volume! The puffer accomplishes this astonishing feat thanks to a simple, elegant concept​—pleats.

Actually, the puffer’s stomach consists of pleats within pleats, explains Natural History. The largest ones are about an eighth of an inch [3 mm] wide “with yet smaller folds inside each one, and so on, down to pleats so tiny that they can be seen only through a microscope,” says the article.

Of course, the puffer’s skin must expand with its stomach. To accomplish that, the skin, which is composed of two layers, employs two different principles. Similar to the stomach, the inner layer is pleated, but the outer layer is elastic. This elastic coating prevents the skin from getting rumpled, and thus hydrodynamically impaired, when the puffer is deflated.

But to ward off would-be predators, the puffer does more than just swell. As its skin stretches, its spiny armor snaps into an upright position. So if you see a puffer while snorkeling, do not touch it! And beware of its mouth too; it can bite to the bone!

When God questioned Job about His creations, Job replied: “I have come to know that you are able to do all things, and there is no idea that is unattainable for you.” (Job 42:2) Yes, even the chubby little spiny puffer, which would hardly win a race or a beauty contest, nevertheless gives abundant testimony to God’s creative power and wisdom.​—Romans 1:20.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 31]

Top: Photo by John E. Randall; bottom: © Jeff Rotman