Arothron caeruleopunctatus

Bluespotted puffer
Arothron caeruleopunctatus
Arothron caeruleopunctatus, adult, Photo: Ian Shaw

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Dark body with light blue or white spots and light blue rings around eye. Lacks dark circular mark on pectoral fin base as on A. hispidus, has light underside unlike A. meleagris, and A. stellatus has black rather than light spots.


Information

Max Size: 80 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 24.7-31°C

Depth: 2-50m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.1% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Several (7 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland