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Spiny Pufferfish palate
Spiny pufferfish palate - top surface.
Spiny pufferfish palate - bottom surface.
The images show a beautifully polished bone sent to the Australian Museum for identification in 1998 by V. Eime.
The bone is the palate of a Spiny Pufferfish. The fused beak-like teeth that characterise the Spiny Pufferfishes (Family Diodontidae) have been worn away.
The bone was found on the coast of Groote Eylandt, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory.
More about Spiny Pufferfishes (images of fishes and jawbone).
Further reading
- Gregory, W.K. 1959. Fish Skulls. A Study of the Evolution of Natural Mechanisms. Erik Lundberg. Laurel, Florida. Pp. 481.
