Spider-eye puffer

Canthigaster amboinensis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–16 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsApril, July, and August
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) zsispeo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Canthigaster amboinensis, commonly known as the Ambon pufferfish, the Ambon toby, or the spider-eye puffer, is a species of pufferfish of the family Tetraodontidae. The species is commonly seen in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and the Hawaiian Islands.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Canthigaster amboinensis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 74 records
February: 89 records
March: 149 records
April: 169 records
May: 151 records
June: 167 records
July: 172 records
August: 212 records
September: 131 records
October: 125 records
November: 95 records
December: 64 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–16 m · Deepest record: 100 m

0–10 m: 535 records
10–20 m: 225 records
20–30 m: 37 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 20 records
24–26 °C: 265 records
26–28 °C: 80 records
28–30 °C: 158 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Rachel Crane, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nick T., some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Spider-eye puffer, Ambon Puffer, Ambon Pufferfish, Ambon Toby, Ambon Toby, Spider-eye puffer, Sharpnose Pufferfish, spider-eye puffer, spotted toby

Names in 5 more languages

German: Ambon-Spitzkopfkugelfisch
Spanish: Tamborín de Ambon
French: Canthigaster d'Ambon
Japanese: Gomafukinchakufugu, ゴマフキンチャクフグ
Simplified Chinese: 安朋河魨, 安汶扁背魨, 安邦尖鼻魨, 尖嘴規, 規仔

Other scientific names: Canthigaster polyophthalmus, Psilonotus amboinensis, Tetraodon amboinensis, Tetrodon amboinensis, Tropidichthys oahuensis, Tropidichthys psegma

Similar species

Bennett's sharpnose puffer
Canthigaster bennetti
Compressed Toby
Canthigaster compressa
Spotted puffer
Canthigaster janthinoptera
False-eyed Pufferfish
Canthigaster papua
Spotted sharpnose
Canthigaster solandri
Valentinni's sharpnose puffer
Canthigaster 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).
1,319 open-data records from 1864 to 2019.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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