Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 25 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 32°N - 24°S
Indo-Pacific: East Africa south to Aliwal Shoal, South Africa (Ref. 4421) and east to Fiji, north to southern Japan, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. Recently recorded from Tonga (Ref. 53797). Replaced by Paraluteres arquat in the Red Sea.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4421)
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 28; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 22 - 25. Ranges from pale greenish to dirty white in color; blackish-brown saddles above; normally with a round dark blotch above origin of anal fin; soft dorsal and anal fins hyaline, tips dusky; caudal fin yellowish (Ref. 4421).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep.
Inhabit clear lagoon and seaward reefs to at least 25 meters (Ref. 5503). Solitary or in small groups (Ref. 9710). Adults usually in pairs, but sometimes seen in small aggregations (Ref. 48637). Mimic the poisonous puffer, Canthigaster valentini which it greatly resembles. Feed on eggs, gastropods and grazes the substrate (Ref. 5503, 48637).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p. (Ref. 1602)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
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