Arothron stellatus

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Arothron stellatus
Pez globo (Arothron stellatus), Ras Katy, Sharm el-Sheij, Egipto, 2022-03-26, DD 119.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Arothron
Species:
A. stellatus
Binomial name
Arothron stellatus
(Anonymous in Lacépède, 1798)
Synonyms [2]
Synonymy
  • Arothron aerostaticus(Jenyns, 1842)
  • Arothron alboreticulatus(Tanaka, 1908)
  • Arothron stellatus(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Chelonodon stellaris(Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (misspelling)
  • Diodon asperCuvier, 1818
  • Kanduka michieiHora, 1925
  • Takifugu stellatus(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Tetraodon aerostaticusJenyns, 1842
  • Tetraodon aerostatiousJenyns, 1842 (misspelling)
  • Tetraodon alboreticulatusTanaka, 1908
  • Tetraodon calamaraRüppell, 1829
  • Tetraodon lagocephalus var. stellatusBloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Tetraodon punctatusBloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Tetraodon stellatusBloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Tetraodon stellatusAnonymous, 1798
  • Tetraodon stellatusShaw, 1804
  • Tetrodon aerostaticusJenyns, 1842 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon lagocephalus stellatusBloch & Schneider, 1801 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon lagocephalus var. stellatusBloch & Schneider, 1801 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon punctatusBloch & Schneider, 1801 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon stellatusBloch & Schneider, 1801 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon stellatusShaw, 1804 (misspelling)
  • Tetrodon stellatusAnonymous, 1798 (misspelling)

Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, [3] starry puffer, [4] or starry toadfish, [5] is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

Arothron stellatus is a very large pufferfish that grows up to 120 cm (47 in) in length. [6] Its body is oval shaped, spherical and relatively elongated. The skin is not covered with scales but is prickly. The fish has no pelvic fin and no lateral line. The dorsal fin and the anal fin are small, symmetric, and located at the rear end of the body. The head is large with a short snout that has two pairs of nostrils, and the mouth is terminal with four strong teeth. [7]

The background coloration goes from white to grey, and the body is harmoniously dotted with black spots. The ventral area is usually clearer. The size of the spots is inversely proportional to the size of the fish; thus, a young individual will have large spots and adults of maximal size will have small spots. The juveniles have a yellowish body background coloration with dark stripes. The young adults still have stripes on the ventral area that will turn to spots later, and also some recollection of yellow on the body.

Immature fish, Mactan Arothron stellatus ballooned.jpg
Immature fish, Mactan

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in tropical and subtropical waters from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea as far as Polynesia, southern Japan, the western, northern and eastern coasts of Australia and Lord Howe Island. [8] It is a relatively uncommon species and lives close to external reef slopes and sheltered lagoons with clear water, but mainly in close proximity to sandy areas, at depths from the surface down to about 58 m (190 ft). [9]

Behavior

Arothron stellatus feeds on benthic invertebrates, sponges, algae, the polyps of corals such as Acropora , crustaceans and mollusks. [7]

This pufferfish is diurnal. It is mainly solitary and defends a territory. [7]

Potential danger

A. stellatus at Red Sea, Egypt Starry puffer at el Fanus West.JPG
A. stellatus at Red Sea, Egypt

Arothron stellatus contains a highly toxic poison, tetrodotoxin, in its ovaries and to a lesser extent its skin and liver, which protects it from voracious predators. It becomes toxic as it eats bacteria that contain the toxin. [10] To ward off potential enemies, they can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetraodontidae</span> Family of pufferfish

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines. The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the hard shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.

<i>Arothron</i> Genus of fishes

Arothron is a genus in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae found in warm parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. These species are sometimes kept in aquaria. The largest species is A. stellatus, which can reach 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-lined puffer</span> Species of fish

The narrow-lined pufferfish is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentin's sharpnose puffer</span> Species of fish

Valentin's sharpnose puffer, also known as the saddled puffer or black saddled toby, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. The saddled puffer is a small sized fish which grows up to 11 cm. It is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea included, and until the oceanic islands of the Pacific Ocean. It inhabits rocky and coral reefs, lagoons and external reef until 55 m. Canthigaster valentini has a diurnal activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackspotted puffer</span> Species of fish

The blackspotted puffer, also known as the dog-faced puffer, is a tropical marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Map puffer</span> Species of fish

The map puffer, also known as the map pufferfish, scribbled pufferfish, or Kesho-fugu, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. The map puffer is typically found in tropical and subtropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean. This fish contains tetrodotoxin, a potent and deadly chemical compound used to ward off predators. Despite being highly poisonous, the map puffer can be found both in the aquarium trade and certain food markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal angelfish</span> Species of fish

The royal angelfish, or regal angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae, and the monotypic genus Pygoplites. It is found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceans. It can grow as long as 25 cm.

<i>Colomesus psittacus</i> Species of fish

Colomesus psittacus, the Banded puffer, parrot puffer or South American estuarine puffer, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masked puffer</span> Species of fish

The masked puffer is a pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-blotched porcupinefish</span> Species of fish

The black-blotched porcupinefish, also known as shortspine porcupinefish, is a member of the family Diodontidae. It is found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific on coral and rocky reefs and in inshore waters. Other names are the blotched porcupinefish and the brown-backed porcupinefish.

<i>Reicheltia</i> Species of fish

Reicheltia halsteadi, Halstead's toadfish, is a species of pufferfish endemic to Australia. This species grows to a length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in) TL. This species is the only known member of the genus Reicheltia.

<i>Canthigaster rostrata</i> Species of fish

Canthigaster rostrata, commonly known as the Caribbean sharp-nose puffer, is a pufferfish from the Western Central Atlantic. The Caribbean sharp-nose puffer is a small fish with a maximum length of 12 cm or approximately 4.7 inches. It can be encountered from the coast of South Carolina to Venezuela, including Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea. They can live up to 10 years in the wild, females typically live longer due to aggressive male territory behavior. The Caribbean sharp-nose puffer is a highly toxic species of marine fish due to the presence of tetrodotoxin in its tissues and organs. Despite its toxicity, the sharp-nose pufferfish occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Arothron meleagris</i> Species of fish

Arothron meleagris, commonly known as the guineafowl puffer or golden puffer, is a pufferfish from the Indo-Pacific, and Eastern Pacific. It is occasionally harvested for the aquarium trade. It reaches 50 cm in length.

<i>Arothron immaculatus</i> Species of fish

Arothron immaculatus, the immaculate puffer or yellow-eyed puffer, is a pale greyish to brownish pufferfish from the Indo-West Pacific. It is a species of marine fish in the family Tetraodontidae.

<i>Arothron caeruleopunctatus</i> Species of fish

Arothron caeruleopunctatus, also known as the blue-spotted pufferfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.

Canthigaster tyleri, also known as Tyler's toby, is a species of marine fish in the family Tetraodontidae.

<i>Arothron reticularis</i> Species of fish

Arothron reticularis, variously known as the reticulated pufferfish, reticulated blowfish or reticulated toadfish, is a ray-finned fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific region where its habitats include sandy and muddy seabeds, coral reefs, estuaries and mangrove areas.

Arothron multilineatus, the multilined pufferfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is an uncommon fish and is known only from four specimens from Pagbilao in the Philippines, although photographs of individuals in the Ryukyu Islands, Mozambique and the Red Sea show that it has a wide distribution. It was first described by the Japanese ichthyologist Keiichi Matsuura in 2016.

<i>Canthigaster rivulata</i> Species of fish

Canthigaster rivulata commonly known as the brown-lined puffer, or kitamakura is a marine fish belonging to the family Tetradontidae.

<i>Siganus stellatus</i> Species of fish

Siganus stellatus, the brown-spotted spinefoot, brown-spotted rabbitfish, honeycomb rabbitfish, starspotted spinefoot, starspotted rabbitfish or stellate rabbitfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

References

  1. Shao, K.; Liu, M.; Jing, L.; Hardy, G.; Leis, J.L.; Matsuura, K. (2014). "Arothron stellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T193712A2264205. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T193712A2264205.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Bailly, N. (2013). Arothron stellatus. In: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2013) FishBase.
  3. 1 2 Field, Richard; Field, Mary (2016). Reef Fish Of The Red Sea. Routledge. pp. 161–162. ISBN   9781317847885.
  4. 1 2 Allen, Gerald R. (2009). Field Guide to Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia. Western Australian Museum. p. 244. ISBN   9781920843892.
  5. Gopalakrishnakone, P.; National University of Singapore. Venom & Toxin Research Group (1990). A Colour Guide to Dangerous Animals. NUS Press. p. 77. ISBN   9789971691509.
  6. "Starry puffer – Encyclopedia of Life".
  7. 1 2 3 Lieske, Ewald and Myers,Robert (2009) Coral reef fishes, Princeton University Press, ISBN   9780691089959
  8. "Arothron stellatus, Stellate puffer". Fishbase.
  9. "Starry puffer – Encyclopedia of Life".
  10. Noguchi, Tamao; Arakawa, Osamu (2008). "Tetrodotoxin – Distribution and Accumulation in Aquatic Organisms, and Cases of Human Intoxication". Marine Drugs. 6 (2): 220–42. doi: 10.3390/md20080011 . PMC   2525488 . PMID   18728726.