Arothron stellatus

Starry Pufferfish ( Arothron stellatus )

The Starry Pufferfish ( Arothron stellatus ), also called star puffer is, with a maximum length of 1.20 meters, the biggest puffer fish. He lives in the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific from East and Southern Africa to southern Japan, Tuamotu and Lord Howe Island. On the south coast of South Africa, he also reached the southeastern Atlantic. The giant puffer fish is relatively rare. Young giant puffer fish hold on mainly over sandy and muddy bottoms and estuaries. Older animals prefer clear lagoons, hem and outer reefs. Giant puffer fish feed mainly of echinoderms and other hard-shelled invertebrates such as snails, clams and crustaceans.

Features

Young giant puffer fish have a dense stripe pattern of black and brown yellow white, the underbelly backward curved lines above. With increasing age, the line pattern triggers on the back to starting and becomes a dense dot pattern. Adult fish are 1.20 meters long. The skin is without scales and covered with small spines.

Fins formula: Dorsal 10-12, 10-11 Anal