Arothron stellatus

(Anonymous, 1798)

Vernacular names
English : Stellate puffer
French : Poisson-ballon étoilé

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Tetraodontiformes
Family : Tetraodontidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
The largest species of the genus, reaching up to 120 cm in length. Juveniles are yellow with black spots and black stripes on belly. Adults are sometimes clear beige-white with black dots and spots or nearly completely grey-black.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the Indo-Pacific area, from the Red Sea to southern Japan, Lord Howe Island and east to Tuamotu. Lives in clear lagoons and seaward reefs near sandy areas, down to 57 meters.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species seems to remain common within its large range. It may locally be threatened by habitat loss. Rarely caught as bycatch by fisheries.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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