Barred Toadfish

Contusus richei

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth12–55 m
Water temperature12–27 °C
Best monthsFebruary and July
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Josh Nitschke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Contusus richei is a pufferfish of the family Tetraodontidae, found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the southwest Pacific Ocean, at depths down to 50 m. It is commonly known as the prickly toadfish, a name it shares with C. brevicaudus. Its length is up to 25 cm.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Contusus richei”, 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: 7 records
February: 12 records
March: 7 records
April: 6 records
May: 4 records
June: 3 records
July: 11 records
August: 6 records
September: 6 records
October: 6 records
November: 3 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 12–55 m · Deepest record: 150 m

0–10 m: 15 records
10–20 m: 93 records
20–30 m: 76 records
30–40 m: 35 records
40–50 m: 12 records
50–60 m: 8 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 20 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–27 °C

12–14 °C: 173 records
14–16 °C: 70 records
16–18 °C: 24 records
18–20 °C: 29 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Bryce Watts-Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Arnim Littek, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Barred Toadfish, Globefish, prickly toadfish, Prickly Toado, Toado

Other scientific names: Tetrodon richei

Similar species

Hardys Toadfish
Contusus brevicaudus
Bristly puffer
Arothron hispidus
Guineafowl puffer
Arothron meleagris
Hawaiian Spotted Toby
Canthigaster jactator
Silverstripe blaasop
Lagocephalus sceleratus
evileye blaasop
Amblyrhynchote honckenii

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).
352 open-data records from 1965 to 2018.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist