Blackspotted puffer
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Blackspotted puffer
| image = Botete cara de perro (Arothron nigropunctatus), Anilao, Filipinas, 2023-08-25, DD 64.jpg
| image2 = Arothron nigropunctatus (yellow).jpg
| image2_caption = Typical form above, yellow below
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Arothron nigropunctatus
| authority = (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)
}}
The blackspotted puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus), also known as the dog-faced puffer, is a tropical marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.
Description
File:Arothron nigropunctatus - Wilhelma 02.jpg
Arothron nigropunctatus is a small sized fish which grows up to {{convert|33|cm|ft|abbr=on|0}} length.{{cite web|title=Arothron nigropunctatus, Blackspotted puffer : aquarium|url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Arothron-nigropunctatus.html|access-date=2021-11-02|website=www.fishbase.se}} Its body is oval shape, spherical and relatively elongated. The skin is not covered with scales. The fish has no pelvic fin and no lateral line. The dorsal fin and the anal fin are small, symmetric and located at the end of the body. Its snout is short with two pairs of nostrils and its mouth is terminal with four strong teeth.Lieske & Myers,Coral reef fishes, Princeton University Press, 2009, {{ISBN|9780691089959}}
The background coloration is variable and can be grey, light brown, bluish, bluish dark, bright yellow, orangey yellow and also sometimes bi-color like bluish and yellow. Dark coloration occurs around the eyes and the mouth. The skin is strewed with dark blotches which vary in size and shape.
Distribution and habitat
This species is found in tropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the central islands of the Pacific Ocean, roughly equalling the Indo-Pacific, except the Red Sea.{{Cite web |url=http://eol.org/pages/204574/details#distribution |title=Descripciones y artículos sobre Arothron nigropunctatus - Encyclopedia of Life |access-date=2013-05-29 |archive-date=2014-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028183602/http://eol.org/pages/204574/details#distribution |url-status=dead }} It lives close to external reef slopes and lagoons from the surface to {{convert|25|m|ft|abbr=on}} depth.
Feeding
File:Botete cara de perro (Arothron nigropunctatus), Anilao, Filipinas, 2023-08-25, DD 267.jpg
Arothron nigropunctatus feeds on benthic invertebrates, sponges, algaes, coral like Acropora tips, crustaceans and mollusks.{{Cite web |url=http://eol.org/pages/204574/details#trophic_strategy |title=Descripciones y artículos sobre Arothron nigropunctatus - Encyclopedia of Life |access-date=2013-05-29 |archive-date=2014-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028183602/http://eol.org/pages/204574/details#trophic_strategy |url-status=dead }}
Behaviour
This pufferfish is diurnal, solitary and territorial.
Potential danger
Arothron nigropunctatus holds the deadly poison tetrodotoxin, which protect it from predators. In order to ward off potential enemies, they can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water.
References
- {{FishBase | genus = Arothron | species = nigropunctatus | month = November | year = 2006}}
{{commons category|Arothron nigropunctatus}}
{{Wikispecies|Arothron nigropunctatus}}
External links
- {{sealifephotos|219921}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q728458}}
Category:Fish described in 1801