Dogface pufferfishes are as common a marine fish as you’ll find in the aquarium hobby, but this is by no means true of all the species in this diverse group. The genusArothron, as currently classified, contains fifteen species, several of which have never been collected for aquarists. These taxa are often poorly known, regionally endemic, or subtropical, and, in my continuing effort to shed light onto the hidden corners of the ichthyological world, they will be the focus of this article.
Before delving into the murky waters ofArothron，需要说一个关于我们对其物种的脆弱理解的说法。作为大而有魅力的鱼类，这些物种中的大多数在分类学史上都被描述为早期，但两个人都早于二十世纪，就不足为奇了。但是，知道整个属从未接受过适当的分类研究，这可能令人惊讶。
研究这些物种的一部分是它们形态的同质性质。标本通常具有相同的鳍射线和g射手的计数，当然，在河豚鱼中没有尺度。当保存在福尔马林中时，河豚体的蛋白质本质也很困难。因此，着色是识别物种的主要手段。显然，我们对进化史的理解Arothron物种内的地理变化仍处于新生状态。鉴于某些分类单元中看到的可观察到的差异，如果遗传研究带来了意外的隐秘多样性，那就不足为奇了。
Arothron caeruleopunctatus“Blue-spotted Pufferfish”
This large, widespread and easily identifiable species was only formally described in 1994, about a century later than every other species in the genus. A couple factors might explain this: 1) Judging byin situphotographs, this species is strictly solitary. 2) Likewise, this species is generally less common relative to its congeners. Even so, it is strange that this slipped past the radar for so long.
身体背侧是黑色的，有白色的腹部。有许多可变尺寸的小斑点，颜色的范围从白色到玉米花蓝色。背部通常被橙棕色包裹，使潜在的黑色颜色混淆。最后一个角色也许是最简单，最可靠的，但它可能仅与成年人有关。使该物种具有共同名称的蓝色斑点似乎是特别可变的，有些标本只有白色斑点，有些标本具有复杂的蓝色网状。
The original description of this species only examined four specimens from Pacific collection localities, but it includes a photo indicating its presence at Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. I have found images of at least two specimens from the Maldives which display an unusually reticulated patterning to the head which, to the best of my knowledge, has not been observed elsewhere. Whether this is just an individual aberration, a geographic variation, or potentially even a cryptic species is impossible to say without genetic study. Photos of sympatric specimens which show a more typical coloration suggest it may just be individual variation.
Arothron carduus“厚条纹的河豚”
This is perhaps the most poorly understood species in the entire genus… so poorly known that I had to make up a common name.A. carduusis known from only four specimens, one of which was discovered as a lampshade in the curio trade. The documented range for these includes the Sea of Penang off Malaysia, the Ryukyu Islands between Taiwan and Japan, and the Izu Islands in Southeastern Japan, while the lampshade specimen may have been from the Philippines. This restricted range is unusual for anArothronspecies, and the lack of photographs from the normally exhaustive catalog of Japanese diveblogs indicates it is genuinely rare in the wild.
可以通过沿着身体纵向奔跑的众多黑暗条纹来诊断该物种。该模式几乎与所见A. reticularis，除了该物种的白点已经结合成条纹，而腹部则是不公平的。它也模糊地类似A. manilensis，直到最近才是它的代名词，但是条纹的差异足够明显以避免混乱。
So then, given that only four instances ofcarduushave been documented, is it more likely that this is a sister species endemic to Japanese waters or that it represents an uncommon aberration in网状? Only genetic study is likely to answer this question, but, given that网状在日本显然是同胞，我将押注后者的假设。
Arothron firmamentum“Heavenly Pufferfish”
This is a fairly common species in its habitat, often being observed in immense schools. It ranges from surface waters to depths in excess of 1000 feet, with a range stretching across the subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. Populations are highly disjunct: Korea to Taiwan; South Australia to New Zealand; Southwestern South Africa; and possibly Argentina in the Atlantic. For obvious reasons, this species is unlikely to ever be available to aquarium hobbyists.
The shape and patterning ofA. Firmentmumare distinctive. The head is particularly blunt and round, while the coloration is black dorsally, with numerous white spots. Kuiter mentions specimens from Japan differing in color from those in the Southern Hemisphere. If confirmed with genetic study, this would result in the resurrection ofA. gillbanksiifor the Australian and New Zealand population, and presumably new names would be needed for the equally disjunct African and Argentine populations.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVcdmThM7k[/youtube]
It occurs both pelagically and demersally over continental shelves, where it hunts an omnivorous diet heavy in crustaceans. Strong storms are known to wash specimens ashore in large numbers. Note that most references list the common name as “Starry Toadfish”, but this is only likely to cause confusion with the actual toadfishes of the Family Batrachoididae. “Starry Pufferfish” is already occupied byA. stellatus, so I suggest a common name of “Heavenly Pufferfish”, as a rough translation of the scientific name.
Arothron inconditus“Bellystriped Blaasop”
谢谢荷兰好人们的delightful common name of this species, as “blaasop” translates as “blow up” in Dutch. This is another endemic species, found only in South Africa, from Cape Town east to Durban, in surface waters down to twenty meters. It is known from a variety of habitats, including beaches, reefs, and even river mouths, but it is generally rare wherever it occurs and is listed as being vulnerable to extinction.
As the common name suggests, this species is striped along its belly, much like as inA. reticularis。The dark spot at the pectoral fin base suggests this species may be related to the widespreadA. immaculatus。两者之间的主要区别是腹部条纹和背面斑点inconditus。
Arothron leopardus“n/a”
我之所以讨论该物种，是因为它可以在Fishbase.com和Wikipedia等一般参考文献中找到，但是很可能这个名称只是另一个物种的同义词。Pufferfish Authority Keiichi Matsuura博士检查了唯一已知的标本，该标本可追溯到该物种的描述，并建议它可能只是广泛的标本A. stellatus。A photograph alleging to be this species can be found on fishbase.com, but this is clearly just a misidentifiedA. hispidus。
The type specimen originates from near Madras, India and was described as follows:“橄榄色，将距离的三分之二延伸到侧面，白色斑点周围有一个中断的黑色网络；三个黑色十字带，一个在头顶上，有一个V形光线内部带后带。第二，胸鳍上方；从背底部的后部。网状狭窄的黑线围绕着尾鳍和背鳍上的大白色斑点，后者同样具有狭窄的黑色基本带。”
If you see this fish, report it to the nearest ichthyologist immediately!
Arothronsp. “Red Sea”
Three photographs are all that exist of this potentially undescribed species. Two were taken near the city of Obhur, Saudi Arabia, which is located in the middle of the Red Sea. The photographer, Richard Field, mentions that these images have been seen by an authority in the group, who indicated this pufferfish cannot be identified as any known species (I concur). Unfortunately, they have been uploaded to fishbase.com asA. reticularis, despite the lack of an authoritative identification and网状在印度西部未知。
沿着人体纵向延伸的厚灰色条纹和薄的白色条纹的图案是未知的。尾鳍充满了一条密集的波浪线，这使我想到了A. Mappa。胸鳍和头部周围的平行线类似于A. reticularis, but much about this fish’s coloration differs from that species.
So what do we have here? Is this an aberration from a known species, or is this truly an undocumented taxon? Or might this instead just be a hybrid? Given that the Red Sea is well-documented by recreational divers and scientists alike, why are there so few images of this fish? The ocean is full of mysteries.
