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STARRY PUFFERFISH FACTS |
Description
The Starry Pufferfish is a very large box-shaped pufferfish. Adult Starry Pufferfish are white and covered with small black spots that become more numerous as the fish grows. Juveniles are orange with small black spots and diagonal black stripes across the belly that become spots as the fish matures.
Other Names
Giant Pufferfish, Starry Puffer
Size
length to 120cm
Habitat
Adults are found on seaward reefs, coral slopes and lagoons. Juveniles are found in sandy and weedy inner reefs, sometimes over muddy sea floor and in estuaries. They swim from just below the surface to 58m deep.
Food
sea urchins, crustaceans, sponges, coral, algae.
Range
The Starry Pufferfish is found in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is found from the central coast of Western Australia, around Northern Territory, Queensland and south to the New South Wales central coast.
Notes
Contains a potentially lethal poison (tetrodotoxin) in the skin and organs.
Classification
| Class: | Actinopterygii | | Order: | Tetraodontiformes | | Family: | Tetraodontidae | | Genus: | Arothron | | Species: | stellatus | | Common Name: | Starry Pufferfish |
Relatives in same Genus
Stars and Stripes Toadfish (A. hispidus)
Narrow-lined Pufferfish (A. manilensis)
Map Pufferfish (A. mappa)
Blackspotted Pufferfish (A. nigropunctatus)
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