Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini (Bleeker 1853)


Other Names: Banded Toby, Black-saddled Toby, Saddled Puffer, Striped Toby, Valentin's Sharpnose Pufferfish

A Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini, at Old Gulch, Lord Howe Island. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef life Survey. License: CC By Attribution

Summary:

A whitish toby with pale brown spots and four dark brown to blackish saddles, the middle two saddles extending onto the belly. This poisonous toby is mimiced by the almost identical Blacksaddle Filefish (Paraluteres prionurus). Here's a great video showing how the Blacksaddle Toby differs from this mimic. 

Blacksaddle Tobies fighting off Adonara, Indonesia - OUCH!

Small juvenile Common Coral Trout (Plectropomus leopardus) and Barcheek Coral Trout (Plectropomus marginatus) avoid predators by mimicing the poisonous Blacksaddle Toby.


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Canthigaster valentini in Fishes of Australia, accessed 06 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/861

Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini (Bleeker 1853)

More Info


Distribution

North West Cape and offshore reefs of north Western Australia (Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef), Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland and reefs in the Coral Sea, to at least Wollongong, New South Wales; also Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Middleton and Elizabeth reefs, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Occurs in a variety of coral reef and seagrass habitats in subtidal lagoons and seaward reefs.

Features

Dorsal fin 9; Anal fin 9. 

Feeding

Feeds on wide variety of benthic organisms, including filamentous green and red algae, tunicates, corals, bryozoans, polychaete worms, echinoderms, molluscs, and brown and coralline red algae.

Biology

Sharpnose Puffers occur in male-dominated harems. A single sexually mature male dominates a social group of several sexually mature females and a number of immature individuals. Each female guards a territory within the male's larger territory. Spawning occurs daily and year-round within the territory of an individual female, and she lays her  eggs inside this territory.
Females produce spherical, strongly adhesive eggs, 0.68–0.72 mm in diameter, each with a dense cluster of small oil droplets. The larvae hatch around sunset three to five days after fertilization.
The eggs and larvae are unpalatable to other species, presumably aiding their survival rate.  

Remarks

May form schools of  more than 100 individuals, often with small numbers of the Blacksaddle Filefish, Paraluteres prionurus, which mimics the poisonous Blacksaddle Toby to gain protection from predators.
Juvenile Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis, also mimic the Blacksaddle Toby.

Species Citation

Tetraodon valentini Bleeker, 1853, Natuurwet. Tijdschr. Ned.-Indië 4: 130. Type locality: Ambon Bay, Ambon, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2018

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini (Bleeker 1853)

References


Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-86

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 Vol. 1-3 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. & Randall, J.E. 1977. Review of the sharpnose pufferfishes (subfamily Canthigasterinae) of the Indo-Pacific. Records of the Australian Museum 30(17): 475-517 figs 1-15

Allen, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1986. Part VII Fishes. pp. 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 pp.197.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C.& Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

Bleeker, P. 1853. Derde bijdrage tot de kennis der ichthyologische fauna van Amboina. Natuurwetenschappelijk Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 4: 91-130

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.

Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp.

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

Frisch, A.J. 2006. Are juvenile coral-trouts (Plectropomus) mimics of poisonous pufferfishes (Canthigaster) on coral reefs? Marine Ecology 27: 247–252. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0485.2006.00103.x

Gill, A.C. & Reader, S.E. 1992. Fishes. pp. 90-93 in Hutchings, P. (ed.). Reef Biology. A Survey of Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, South Pacific. Canberra : Australian National Parks Vol. 3, Kowari 230 pp.

Gladstone, W. 1987. The courtship and spawning behaviors of Canthigaster valentini (Tetraodontidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 20(4): 255–261.

Gladstone, W. 1987. The eggs and larvae of the sharpnose pufferfish Canthigaster valentini (Pisces: Tetraodontidae) are unpalatable to other reef fishes. Copeia 1987(1): 227–230.

Gladstone, W. 1987. Role of female territoriality in social and mating systems of Canthigaster valentini (Pisces: Tetraodontidae): evidence from field experiments. Marine Biology 96:185-191.

Gladstone, W. & Westoby, M. 1988. Growth and reproduction in Canthigaster valentini (Pisces, Tetraodontidae): A comparison of a toxic reef fish with other reef fishes. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 21(3): 207-221.

Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.

Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.

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. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to sea fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Leis, J.M., Carson-Ewart, B.M. & Webley, J. 2002. Settlement behaviour of coral-reef fish larvae at subsurface artificial-reef moorings. Marine and Freshwater Research 53(2): 319-327.

McClanahan, T.R., Maina, J., Starger, C.J., Herron-Perez, P. & Dusek, E. 2005. Detriments to post-bleaching recovery of corals. Coral Reefs 24: 230-246.

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Osborne, K. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, December 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Sciences 64 pp. 

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Thompson, A.A. 2003. Marine surveys undertaken in the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, March-April 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science 59 pp. 

Oxley, W.G., Emslie, M., Muir, P. & Thompson, A.A. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve, March 2004. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science i-vii, 1-67 pp.

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

Russell, B.C., Larson, H.K., Hutchins, J.B. & Allen, G.R. 2005. Reef fishes of the Sahul Shelf. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Supplement 1 2005: 83-105

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Shao, K., Liu, M., Jing, L., Hardy, G., Leis, J.L. & Matsuura, K. 2014. Canthigaster valentini. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T193796A2278385. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T193796A2278385.en. Downloaded on 12 September 2018.

Stroud, G.J., Goldman, B. & Gladstone, W. 1989. Larval development, growth and age determination in the sharpnose pufferfish Canthigaster valentini (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae). Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 36 3: 327-337. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02905617 Abstract

Tyler, J.C. 1967. A diagnosis of the two transversely barred Indo-Pacific pufferfishes of the genus Canthigaster (valentini and coronatus). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 119(2): 53-73.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37467043

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Danger:Poisonous

Depth:1-55 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:11 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map