Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus 1758)
Other Names: Broad Barred Puffer, Broad-Barred Puffer, Broad-barred Toadfish, Ringed Puffer, Stars and Stripes Puffer, Stars and Stripes Toadfish, Stars and Stripes Toado, Whitespotted Puffer
A Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus, at Statis Rock, Seal Rocks, New South Wales. Source: Richard Ling / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A variably coloured puffer, often pale grey to greenish-brown puffer, with a white belly, a white ring around the eye (may be absent in large fish), whitish lines on the belly (may be absent in large fish), usually a large dark spot around the gill opening and pectoral-fin base (sometimes also with pale concentric rings)
Body with variable pattern, often pale grey with dark patches around eye and on snout, white bar across top of snout, and widely scattered black spots. Sometimes with variable amount of yellow on head and body.
Video of a very fat Stars-and-stripes Puffer at Oak Park, Sydney, New South Wales.
Body with variable pattern, often pale grey with dark patches around eye and on snout, white bar across top of snout, and widely scattered black spots. Sometimes with variable amount of yellow on head and body.
Video of a very fat Stars-and-stripes Puffer at Oak Park, Sydney, New South Wales.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Arothron hispidus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/845
Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus 1758)
More Info
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Distribution |
Known in the Australian EEZ from Fremantle and offshore reefs of Western Australia, around the tropical north including reefs in the Coral Sea, to at least Wollongong, New South Wales; also at Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa, esst to Hawaii, the Tuamotos and the eastern Pacific. The species was recorded from the Mediterranean Sea in 2018. Inhabits mixed coral, sandy, rubble, weedy and seagrass areas on coral and rocky reefs, and in coastal bays and estuaries. Small juveniles commonly occur in mangrove estuaries along the Queensland coast. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 10-11; Anal fin 10-11; Pectoral fin 17-19. Head and body covered in small spinules except around snout and rear of caudal peduncle; snout short, obtuse; each nostril with two fleshy solid tentacles. |
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Colour |
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Feeding |
Feeds on fleshy, calcareous, or coralline algae, detritus, and a range of benthic invertebrates including molluscs, tunicates, sponges, corals, zoanthid anemones, crabs, tube worms and echinoderms (preys on the Crown-of-thorns Starfish). |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin hispidus (= rough, bristly), presumably in reference to bristly skin if this species. |
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Species Citation |
Tetraodon hispidus Linnaeus, 1758, Systema Naturae 1: 333. Type locality: India. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus 1758)
References
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Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2
Allen, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1986. Part VII Fishes. 79-103 in Berry, P.F. (ed.). Faunal Surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef, northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 25: 1-106.
Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.
Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp.
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Cole, A.J., Pratchett, M.S. & Jones, G.P. 2008. Diversity and functional importance of coral-feeding fishes on tropical coral reefs. Fish and Fisheries 9: 286-307.
Bariche, M. 2018. First confirmed record of the white-spotted puffer Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean Sea. BioInvasions Records 7: 433-436. See ref online
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.
Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.
Hardy, G., Jing, L., Leis, J.L., Liu, M., Matsuura, K. & Shao, K. 2014. Arothron hispidus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T193699A2262231. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T193699A2262231.en. Downloaded on 05 March 2017.
Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/
Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/
Hoschke, A., Whisson, G. & Moore, G.I. 2019. Complete list of fishes from Rottnest Island. pp. 150-161 in Whisson, G. & Hoschke, A. (eds) The Rottnest Island fish book. 2nd ed. Perth : Aqua Research and Monitoring Services.
Hutchins, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398.
Hutchins, J.B. 1990. Fish survey of South Passage, Shark Bay, Western Australia. pp. 263-278 in Berry, P.F., Bradshaw, S.D. & Wilson, B.R. (eds) Research in Shark Bay: Report of the France-Australe Bicentenary Expedition Committee. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6
Hutchins, J.B. 1997. Checklist of fishes of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. pp. 239-253 in Wells, F.E. (ed.). The Marine Flora and fauna of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Hutchins, J.B. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp.
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293.
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna tria Naturae, secundem Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentis, Synonymis, Locis. Tom.1 Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp. See ref at BHL
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Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2
