{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Shao, K. |author2=Liu, M. |author3=Jing, L. |author4=Hardy, G. |author5=Leis, J.L. |author6=Matsuura, K. |date=2020 |title=''Colomesus psittacus'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T193650A176220100 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T193650A176220100.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Colomesus psittacus.jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Colomesus psittacus | authority = (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) }}
'''''Colomesus psittacus''''', the '''Banded puffer''', '''parrot puffer'''<ref name="Ebert"/> or '''South American estuarine puffer''',<ref name="Monks"/> is a species of pufferfish found all along the Western Atlantic coastline of South America from the Gulf of Paria down to the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil.
== Description == The coloration of this fish is green above, white below, and patterned with black transverse bands across the dorsal surface. Compared with ''Colomesus asellus'', the black bands on the back are much thinner, and it also lacks a distinctive black band that rings the base of the caudal fin.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite book |author=Ebert, Klaus |year=2001 |title=The Puffers of Fresh and Brackish Water |publisher=Aqualog |isbn=3-931702-60-X}}</ref> This species grows to a length of {{convert|28.9|cm|in}} SL.<ref name="FishBasepsittacus"/> This species is known to have edible flesh but a toxic liver but whether it contains saxitoxin or tetrodotoxin (as is the case with many marine puffers) is not known.<ref name="Freitas">{{cite journal |author=J. C. Freitas |year=2006 |title=Eating habits: are we safe to consume freshwater puffer fish from the Amazon region in Brazil? |journal=Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=153–155 |url=http://www.scielo.br/pdf/jvatitd/v12n2/v12n2a01.pdf |doi=10.1590/s1678-91992006000200001|doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Ecology == It is a euryhaline species that moves freely between freshwater and the sea. The natural diet of ''Colomesus psittacus'' is carnivorous and consists mainly of molluscs.<ref name="FishBasepsittacus">{{FishBase|genus= Colomesus|species= psittacus|year=2012|month=October}}</ref> In the aquarium they eat a variety of invertebrates including snails, clams and shrimps.<ref name="Monks">{{cite book |editor=Monks, N. |title=Brackish Water Fishes |publisher=TFH |year=2006 |isbn=0-7938-0564-3}}</ref> Like other pufferfish, they have the ability to inflate themselves when threatened, making themselves much larger and therefore more difficult for predators to handle or swallow.
== Aquarium keeping == Because of its large size and need for salt water, ''Colomesus psittacus'' is rarely kept in home aquaria, but it is otherwise similar to ''Colomesus asellus'' in terms of maintenance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/C_Psittacus/|title=Colomesus psittacus|access-date=February 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223114718/http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/C_Psittacus/|archive-date=February 23, 2007}}</ref> It is not a schooling species and may be aggressive towards others of its species, so is usually kept alone.<ref name="FishBasepsittacus"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2617715}}
Category:Tetraodontidae Category:Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Category:Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider Category:Fish described in 1801