Find a Fish
Starry Pufferfish
Arothron stellatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
A Starry Pufferfish at a depth of 10 m, South Solitary Island, New South Wales. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
An unusually coloured adult Starry Pufferfish (approx. 40 cm long) at a depth of 8 m, Fly Point, Port Stephens, New South Wales, June 2004. Photo © D. Harasti. View larger image.
Adult Starry Pufferfish are white with numerous small black spots that become relatively smaller and more numerous as the fish grows. Juveniles are orange with small black spots. They have diagonal black bands crossing the abdomen.
This species grows to 1.2 m in length.
It has a variable diet that can include sea urchins, crustaceans, sponges, coral and algae.
The Starry Pufferfish occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is recorded from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the New South Wales central coast.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Blackspotted Pufferfish fact sheet
- Map Pufferfish fact sheet
- Narrow-lined 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.
- Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
