Diet

• An omnivorous benthic feeder that consumes algae and a wide variety of invertebrates, including molluscs, crustaceans, tunicates, sponges, corals, anemones, worms and echinoderms. Its powerful beak-like teeth allow it to crush hard-shelled prey.

Range

• Arothron hispidus is widespread across the tropical Indo-Pacific and also occurs in the eastern Pacific, from Baja California and the Gulf of California southward to northern Peru, including offshore islands.

• It occurs along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

• It inhabits shallow coral and rocky reefs, reef flats, lagoons, coastal bays and nearby sandy or rubble bottoms. Juveniles may occur among vegetation in estuaries, while adults are often solitary around reef-associated sandy or rubble areas. The recorded depth range is approximately 1–90 m.

Description

• The White-spotted Puffer is a large, heavy-bodied puffer with a rounded body, broad blunt head and short snout, reaching about 50 cm in length.

• The body is generally greyish to greenish brown, covered dorsally with numerous small white spots and becoming white underneath with curved dark stripes. The pectoral-fin base and gill opening are surrounded by contrasting black-and-white markings.

• The skin is covered with small spinules, and the nostrils consist of paired fleshy projections. There are no pelvic fins, and the rounded caudal fin is positioned at the end of a relatively long caudal peduncle.