The smooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Christophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with what is now the only other member of its genus, the common toadfish (T. hamiltonii). Up to 16 cm (6 1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its upperparts, the smooth toadfish has a flattened belly and an elongate body tapering to a slender tail. Its back and fins are rounded. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs and crustaceans—in sandy or muddy sediment. Often an unwanted catch by anglers, the smooth toadfish's flesh contains the poison tetrodotoxin, and eating it may result in death.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_toadfish

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1423:

Hundred Years' War: The English and their Burgundian allies were victorious over the French at the Battle of Cravant near Auxerre, France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cravant

1777:

The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution allowing French nobleman the Marquis de Lafayette to enter the American revolutionary forces as a Major General. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_du_Motier,_Marquis_de_Lafayette

1941:

The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to handle "the final solution of the Jewish question". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution

1991:

The Soviet Union and the United States signed the bilateral START I treaty, the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, which eventually removed 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/START_I

2006:

Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%9308_Cuban_transfer_of_presidential_duties

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

i18n: (software engineering) Abbreviation of internationalization. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/i18n

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