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Blackspotted Pufferfish
Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Above and below: A Blackspotted Pufferfish at a depth of 11 m, "Pixie Gardens", Ribbon Reef #9, Great Barrier Reef, off Cooktown, Queensland, June 2002. View larger image.
Above and below: A Blackspotted Pufferfish photographed at night at a depth of 10 m, Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, December 1999. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
The Blackspotted Pufferfish can be recognised by its colouration. It is grey to brown above and white to yellow below. There are irregular black spots on the body and a pale band across the snout.
This species grows to 25 cm in length.
It eats mainly live corals.
The Blackspotted Pufferfish occurs on coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the offshore reefs of north-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country, and south to the central coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Bluespotted Puffer fact sheet
- Map Pufferfish fact sheet
- Narrow-lined Pufferfish fact sheet
- Starry Pufferfish fact sheet
- Stars and Stripes Toadfish fact sheet
- View the Pufferfishes list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
- Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific: New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawai’i Press. Pp. 584.
