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 08 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/845
Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus 1758)
More Info
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. |
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. |
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). |
Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin hispidus (= rough, bristly), presumably in reference to bristly skin if this species. |
Species Citation |
Tetraodon hispidus Linnaeus, 1758, Systema Naturae 1: 333. Type locality: India. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
Resources |
Stars-and-stripes Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus 1758)
References
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