Ray-finned Fishes of Zihuatanejo

CLASS ACTINOPTERYGII

-Puffers and Filefishes (Order Tetraodontiformes)

-Pufferfishes, Porcupinefishes, and Molas (Suborder Tetraodontoidei)

-Pufferfishes Family (Tetraodontidae)

-Genus Arothron

-Guineafowl Puffer (Arothron meleagris)

This puffer occurs in two color phases: black with white spots, and golden yellow. The two sets of common names refer to these different appearances. In Spanish they are known as Botete Negro and Botete de Oro. As with all pufferfish, they have the ability to take water into their stomach to swell themselves up, making it harder for a predator to fit them in its mouth. The diet of this species mainly consists of corals and small invertebrates.

Diet

Arothron meleagris is an omnivorous benthic feeder, but live branching corals make up a major part of its diet. It also consumes sponges, molluscs, bryozoans, tunicates, foraminiferans, algae and detritus.

Range

The Guineafowl Puffer has a broad Indo-Pacific distribution. In the eastern Pacific it ranges from southern Baja California and the Gulf of California southward to Ecuador, including several offshore islands.
It occurs along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

It is usually found around coral-rich rocky reefs, clear lagoons and seaward reefs, generally in shallow coastal waters. It is primarily solitary and closely associated with the bottom. Juveniles may also occur in weedy or seagrass habitats, while adults are particularly associated with coral and rocky reef environments.

Description

The Guineafowl Puffer has a heavy, rounded body, large blunt head, short snout and powerful beak-like jaws. It can reach about 50 cm in length.
The usual colouration is black or very dark brown, with numerous small white spots covering the head, body and fins. A striking yellow colour form, sometimes with irregular dark markings, also occurs.
The skin is tough and scaleless but covered with small spinules. It has no pelvic fins, and the short, rounded tail is set behind a relatively long caudal peduncle.