Spotted toby

Canthigaster solandri

FAMILY

Tetraodontidae

TAXONOMY

Canthigaster solandri Richardson, 1845, Polynesia.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Spotted sharpnose puffer.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Oblong and stocky body, with a pronounced snout, prickles on the belly, a rounded caudal fin, and the ability to inflate itself with water. Color is orangish red with blue spots over much of the body and on the orange caudal fin. The ventral surface is white. There is a black spot ringed in pale blue directly below the base of the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is white, with a black base, and has eight to 10 soft rays. The anal fin also has eight to 10 soft rays. Some geographical variation in color pattern. The skin contains tetraotoxin. Grows to at least 4.3 in (11 cm) in total length.

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific from East Africa east to the Tuamotu Archipelago, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia, and north to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. Reportedly strays to the Hawaiian Islands.

HABITAT

Mainly coral reefs on reef flats, lagoon patch reefs, and seaward reefs. Depth range is 3.3–118 ft (1–36 m).

BEHAVIOR

Usually paired but also solitary or in groups. Swims over a home range, inspecting potential food items; also swims up in the water column. Some territorial interactions, as well.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Omnivorous, feeding on tunicates, bryozoans, echinoderms, crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms, corals, coralline red algae, green algae, and red algae.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Paired spawning of demersal eggs on algae growing on dead coral, rocks, or other substrata. The eggs are poisonous, and parental care is not practiced. The larvae are pelagic.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Collected for the aquarium trade.