Dictionary - Definition of Diodon

Definition: Diodon


Part of Speech	Definition
Noun	1. Type genus of the Diodontidae.[Wordnet] 2. A genus of spinose, plectognath fishes, having the teeth of each jaw united into a single beaklike plate. They are able to inflate the body by taking in air or water, and, hence, are called globefishes, swellfishes, etc. Called also porcupine fishes, and sea hedgehogs.[Websters] 3. A genus of whales.[Websters].
Sources: WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)		Top

"Diodon" is a common misspelling or typo for: Diode, Dodson, Dido, Diatom, Dodo, Diodes, Diadem, Deaden, Dodos, Duodena.

Date "Diodon" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1803. (references)

Etymology:Diodon \Di"o*don\, noun. [Greek di- = di`s- twice, a tooth: compare to French diodon.]. (references)

Specialty Definition: Diodon

Domain	Definition
Noah Webster	[Noun] The sun-fish; a genus of fishes of a singular form, appearing like the fore part of the body of a deep fish amputated in the middle. Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.		Top

Expressions	Definition
Diodon holocanthus	Similar to but smaller than porcupinefish. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Diodon hystrix	Spines become erect when the body is inflated; worldwide in warm waters. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Genus Diodon	Type genus of the Diodontidae. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
USS Diodon (SS-349)	USS Diodon (SS-349), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for diodon, the genus of the porcupine fishes. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.		Top

Porcupinefishes
Fossil range: Early Eocene to Present^[1]

Diodon holocanthus

Scientific classification

Species

Members of the diodontidae, species of the genus diodon are usually known as porcupinefishes or balloonfishes.

Fish of the genus diodon have;

two-rooted, moveable spines (actually modified scales) distributed over their bodies.
beak-like jaws, used to crush their hard-shelled prey (crustaceans and molluscs).^[2]

They differ from the swelltoads and burrfishes (genus Cyclichthys and Chilomycterus), which have fixed, rigid spines.

Like pufferfishes they can inflate themselves, making their spines stand perpendicular to the skin. When inflated they pose a major difficulty to their predators: a large diodon fully inflated can choke a shark to death.
They may be poisonous, through the accumulation of tetrodotoxin or ciguatera.^[2]

Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560.
^a ^b Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (2004) Coral reef guide; Red Sea London, HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-715986-2

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Diodon". Image Credit.
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Topics by Level of Interest: Diodon
Topics sorted by level of Interest	Level (1=low, 600=high)	Topics sorted Alphabetically	Level (1=low, 600=high)
USS Diodon (SS-349)	24	Charpentieria diodon	5
Diodon	10	Diodon	10
Charpentieria diodon	5	USS Diodon (SS-349)	24
Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses).