Arothron reticularis ( Bloch and Schneider, 1801 )

Veeruraj, Anguchamy, Arumugam, Muthuvel, Ajithkumar, Thangappan & Balasubramanian, Thangavel, 2011, Distribution of Tetraodontiformes (Family: Tetraodontidae) along the Parangipettai Coast, Southeast coast of India, Zootaxa 3015, pp. 1-12 : 4-5

Arothron reticularis ( Bloch and Schneider, 1801)

Reticulated puffer fish

( Fig. 4).

Tetraodon reticularis

Common names. Reticulated puffer, Reticulated blowfish and Reticulated toadfish.

Habitat. Brackish, Marine, Reef-associated, depth range 1–25 m

Colour. Head and body brown above and whitish below. Dorsal and lateral side of the body, caudal peduncle and caudal fin with white. Abdomen and lower region with longitudinal and parallel brown stripes curving upwards on head, encircling gill anteriorly and forming oblique line on snout region. A back blotch at base of pectoral fin; caudal fin brown and other fins yellow.

Geographical distribution. Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean including the South China Sea and Ryukyu Islands.

Description of species. Dorsal soft spines (total): 10; Pectoral soft spines: 17–19; Anal soft spines: 9–10; Caudal soft spines: 8

Body oblong and nearly cylindrical in cross section with broad head and back. Dorsal profile convex; profile of head straight too slightly concave with blunt snout. Entire body and head, except lips, posterior end of caudal peduncle and fins, covered with prickles. Nasal organ anterior to eye with 2 fleshy lobes formed by bifurcation of a single base. All fins rounded. White lines encircling eye.

Biology and fishery. Epibenthic, occuring in shallow water reefs near sand or seaweed areas. Also found in estuaries and protected muddy bays; juveniles in mangroves and lower reaches of streams. Juveniles feed mainly on planktonic items such as fish eggs, copepods, amphipods, cumaceans and diatoms. Adults occur at moderate depths, often laying on the mud during the day. Feeds on corals, mollusks, crabs and other sand-dwelling invertebrates ( Kuthalingam et al., 1973). The size range caught in the trawl varies between 12 and 48cm.

Remarks. This species closely resembles Arothron stellatus though it is easily distinguished by the presence of white spots and longitudinal and parallel brown stripes on lower ventral region while in A. stellatus presence of numerous black spots in the body and more or less oblique black bands in lower ventral region could be seen.

Not edible as flesh of fish is believed to be poisonous therefore this is not a commercial species.