Arothron
| Arothron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Narrow-lined puffer (Arothron manilensis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| 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.[1][2]
Evolution
[edit]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
[edit]They have a wide range of distribution being found in warm parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.[1]
Description
[edit]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
[edit]There are currently 14 recognized species in this genus:[1][2]
| Image | Species | Common name |
|---|---|---|
 |
Arothron caeruleopunctatus
Matsuura, 1994 |
Blue-spotted puffer |
| Arothron carduus
(Cantor, 1849) |
||
,_mar_Rojo,_Egipto,_2023-04-17,_DD_19.jpg) |
Arothron diadematus
(Rüppell, 1829) |
Masked puffer |
 |
Arothron firmamentum | Starry puffer |
 |
Arothron hispidus
(Linnaeus, 1758) |
White-spotted puffer |
 |
Arothron immaculatus
(Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) |
Immaculate puffer |
.jpg) |
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 |
,_Cabo_Pulmo,_Baja_California,_M%C3%A9xico,_2024-12-19,_DD_54.jpg) |
Arothron meleagris
(Anonymous, referred to Lacépède, 1798) |
Guineafowl puffer |
| Arothron multilineatus
Matsuura, 2016 |
Many-lined puffer[5] | |
_(closeup).jpg) |
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
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Arothron". FishBase. December 2016 version.
- 1 2 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.
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