| Arothron | |
|---|---|
| |
| Narrow-lined puffer (Arothron manilensis) | |
| |
| Guineafowl puffer (Arothron meleagris) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Tetraodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Tetraodontinae |
| Genus: | Arothron J. P. Müller, 1841 |
| Diversity | |
| 14 species | |
Arothron is a genus of pufferfish that belongs to the family Tetraodontidae. These species are sometimes kept in aquaria.12
The oldest described specimens of this genus are dated to the early Pleistocene epoch around 1.95-1.35 million years ago. They were uncovered in the Liuchungchi Formation in southern Taiwan. They are semi-articulated specimens with nearly complete skulls that show characteristic beak-like jaws.3
Distribution
They have a wide range of distribution being found in warm parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.1
Description
The largest species is A. stellatus, which can reach 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in length.1 They are easily distinguishable from other genera of pufferfish through several characteristics. The first is a single lateral line on the sides of their bodies. Their nostrils have the appearance of an upraised cup with two fleshy flaps. They are easily visible to the naked eye.4
Species
There are currently 14 recognized species in this genus:12
- Arothron caeruleopunctatus Matsuura, 1994 (Blue-spotted puffer)
- Arothron carduus (Cantor, 1849)
- Arothron diadematus (Rüppell, 1829) (Masked puffer)
- Arothron firmamentum (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) (Starry puffer)
- Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) (White-spotted puffer)
- Arothron immaculatus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Immaculate puffer)
- Arothron inconditus J. L. B. Smith, 1958 (Belly-striped puffer)
- Arothron manilensis (Marion de Procé, 1822) (Narrow-lined puffer)
- Arothron mappa (Lesson, 1831) (Map puffer)
- Arothron meleagris (Anonymous, referred to Lacépède, 1798) (Guineafowl puffer)
- Arothron multilineatus Matsuura, 2016 (Many-lined puffer)5
- Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Black-spotted puffer)
- Arothron reticularis (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Reticulated puffer)
- Arothron stellatus (Anonymous, referred to Lacépède, 1798) (Stellate puffer)
- Synonyms
- Arothron aerostaticus (Jenyns, 1842) valid as Arothron stellatus
- Arothron gillbanksii (Clarke, 1897) valid as Arothron firmamentum
- Arothron leopardus (Day, 1878) valid as Chelonodon leopardus
- Arothron perspicillaris (Rüppell, 1829) valid as Arothron hispidus
References
References
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Arothron". FishBase. December 2016 version.
- Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Arothron". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
- Lee, Chieh-Hsuan; Přikryl, Tomáš; Hsu, Yu-Chieh; Lin, Chien-Hsiang (2026-03-31). "First skeletal record of the pufferfish Arothron (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from the Early Pleistocene of southern Taiwan". Palaeontologia Electronica. 29 (1): 1–15. doi:10.26879/1668. ISSN 1094-8074.
- Mishra, Subhrendu & Chakraborty, Priyankar & Yardi, Kranti. (2021). New record of white-spotted pufferfish Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from West Bengal, India, compared with other Arothron species occurring in India. Journal of Fisheries. 9. 93401. 10.17017/j.fish.332.
- Matsuura, K. (2016). "A new pufferfish, Arothron multilineatus (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), from the Indo-West Pacific". Ichthyological Research. 63 (4): 480–486.