| Blackspotted puffer | |
|---|---|
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| Typical form above, yellow below | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Tetraodontidae |
| Genus: | Arothron |
| Species: | A. nigropunctatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | |
The blackspotted puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus), also known as the dog-faced puffer, is a tropical marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.
Arothron nigropunctatus is a small sized fish which grows up to 33 cm (1 ft) length. [2] Its body is oval shape, spherical and relatively elongated. The skin is not covered with scales. The fish has no pelvic fin and no lateral line. The dorsal fin and the anal fin are small, symmetric and located at the end of the body. Its snout is short with two pairs of nostrils and its mouth is terminal with four strong teeth. [3]
The background coloration is variable and can be grey, light brown, bluish, bluish dark, bright yellow, orangey yellow and also sometimes bi-color like bluish and yellow. Dark coloration occurs around the eyes and the mouth. The skin is strewed with dark blotches which vary in size and shape.
This species is found in tropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the central islands of the Pacific Ocean, roughly equalling the Indo-Pacific, except the Red Sea. [4] It lives close to external reef slopes and lagoons from the surface to 25 m (82 ft) depth. [2]
Arothron nigropunctatus feeds on benthic invertebrates, sponges, algaes, coral like Acropora tips, crustaceans and mollusks. [5]
This pufferfish is diurnal, solitary and territorial. [3]
Arothron nigropunctatus holds the deadly poison tetrodotoxin, which protect it from predators. In order to ward off potential enemies, they can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water.
The white-spotted puffer fish is a medium to large-sized puffer fish, it can reach 50 cm length. It is light grey in color, or greyish or yellowish, and clearly covered with more or less regular white points, that become concentric contrasting white and dark grey lines that radiate around the eyes and pectoral fins. The ventral part is white. The "shoulder" is dark. It also has concentric contrasting white and dark grey lines that radiate around the eyes and pectoral fins. The white spotted puffer fish is poisonous.
The narrow-lined pufferfish is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.
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.
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.
The slippery dick is a species of wrasse native to shallow, tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
The masked puffer is a pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae.
The checkerboard wrasse is a fish belonging to the wrasse family. It is native to the area including the Indian Ocean to central Pacific Ocean.
The brown-marbled grouper or tiger grouper is a benthic marine fish which belongs to the family Serranidae or also known as the groupers.
Commerson's frogfish or the giant frogfish, Antennarius commerson, is a marine fish belonging to the family Antennariidae.
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.
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.
Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, starry puffer, or starry toadfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.
The warty frogfish or clown frogfish is a marine fish belonging to the family Antennariidae.
The Chinese trumpetfish, Aulostomus chinensis, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Aulostomidae.
The barred thicklip wrasse is a species of fish belonging to the wrasse family, native from the Indo-Pacific.
Porites lobata, known by the common name lobe coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The painted frogfish or spotted frogfish, Antennarius pictus, is a marine fish belonging to the family Antennariidae.
Arothron caeruleopunctatus, also known as the blue-spotted pufferfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.
The blue-and-gold snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean where it is important to local subsistence fisheries.
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.
