Arothron
| Arothron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Narrow-lined puffer (Arothron manilensis) | |
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| 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.[1][2]
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]
- 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
[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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