Longspine Porcupinefish

Photo: François Libert · CC BY-NC-SA

Porcupinefish in large numbers occupy the Moses Rock pinnacle, their inflatable spiny bodies wedged into coral crevices during the day in a defensive posture that deters even the largest predators. At night they emerge to hunt hard-shelled molluscs and sea urchins, their fused tooth plates powerful enough to crush the spines of long-spined urchins that nothing else on the reef can eat. Their abundance at this site creates a visible ecological link to urchin population control — heavily fished areas with few porcupinefish show characteristic urchin barrens where protective reef structure should be.