Immaculate Puffer

The Immaculate Puffer (Arothron immaculatus) is a tropical marine fish that can also thrive in brackish environments. Typically associated with reefs, it is found at depths ranging from 3 to 30 meters (10 to 100 feet), although it can inhabit shallower areas between 1 and 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet), such as weedy regions in estuaries, seagrass beds, and mangrove zones. The maximum length of this species is about 37.5 centimeters (15 inches), with a recorded maximum weight of 775 grams (1.7 pounds).

These puffers are generally solitary creatures and have been observed in environments such as silty bottoms at a depth of 17 meters (56 feet). Reproducing through a method known as oviparity, they lay eggs rather than giving live birth.

The Immaculate Puffer's body is adorned with prickles and lacks dorsal and anal spines. It has 9 to 11 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 9 to 17 in the anal fin. The species is characterized by dark bars on the side of its head and below its pectoral fins, with juvenile Pacific specimens exhibiting longitudinal dark stripes on their bellies.

This species is native to the Indo-West Pacific region, ranging from the 🌊 Red Sea and East Africa, including the southern coast of 🇿🇦 South Africa, to 🇮🇩 Indonesia, and extending north to southern 🇯🇵 Japan.