Blackspotted puffer
Arothron nigropunctatus
- Usual depth1–21 m
- Water temperature23–30 °C
- Best monthsJuly, September, and October
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The blackspotted puffer, also known as the dog-faced puffer, is a tropical marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Blackspotted puffer”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 354 records
- February: 341 records
- March: 475 records
- April: 445 records
- May: 426 records
- June: 385 records
- July: 535 records
- August: 430 records
- September: 492 records
- October: 487 records
- November: 455 records
- December: 409 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–21 m · Deepest record: 44 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) M Rutherford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Mike Burnett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Blackspotted puffer, Blackspotted Blaasop, Black Spotted Blow Fish, blackspotted puffer, Black-spotted Puffer, Black Spotted Puffer, Black-spotted Pufferfish, Black Spotted Pufferfish, Black-spotted Toadfish, Blackspotted Toadfish, Black-spotted Toado, brown puffer, Dog-faced Puffer, Dogface Puffer, Puffer Fish, Spotted Toado
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Schwarzfleck-Kugelfisch
- Spanish
- Botete Cara de Perro, Pez globo enmascarado
- French
- Ballon maculé, Poisson-ballon à points noirs, Poisson-ballon à Queue Jaune, Poisson-ballon à Taches Noires
- Japanese
- Kokutenfugu, コクテンフグ
- Thai
- ปลาปักเป้าจุดดำ, ปลาปักเป้าหน้าหมา
- Simplified Chinese
- 污點河魨, 狗頭, 規仔, 黑斑叉鼻魨, 黑斑叉鼻鲀
Other scientific names: Arothron citrinellus, Arothtron nigropunctatus, Tetraodon nigropunctatus, Tetrodon nigropunctatus
Similar species
Valentinni's sharpnose pufferCanthigaster valentini
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 1,983 open-data records from 1801 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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