''Arothron'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the pufferfish

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Tetraodontidae Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, ...

found in warm parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. These

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are sometimes kept in aquaria. The largest species is ''A. stellatus'', which can reach in length.

Species

There are currently 14 recognized species in this genus: * '' Arothron caeruleopunctatus'' Matsuura, 1994 (Blue-spotted puffer) * '' Arothron carduus'' (

Cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, 1849) * '' Arothron diadematus'' ( Rüppell, 1829) (Masked puffer) * '' Arothron firmamentum'' ( Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) (Starry puffer) * '' Arothron hispidus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) (White-spotted puffer) * '' Arothron immaculatus'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Immaculate puffer) * '' Arothron inconditus'' J. L. B. Smith, 1958 (Belly-striped puffer) * '' Arothron manilensis'' ( Marion de Procé, 1822) (Narrow-lined puffer) * '' Arothron mappa'' ( Lesson, 1831) (Map puffer) * '' Arothron meleagris'' (Anonymous, referred to Lacépède, 1798) (Guineafowl puffer) * '' Arothron multilineatus'' Matsuura, 2016 (Many-lined puffer) * '' Arothron nigropunctatus'' (

& J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Black-spotted puffer) * '' Arothron reticularis'' (

& J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Reticulated puffer) * '' Arothron stellatus'' (Anonymous, referred to Lacépède, 1798) (Stellate puffer) ;Synonyms * ''Arothron aerostaticus'' (Jenyns, 1842) valid as ''Arothron stellatus'' * '' Arothron gillbanksii'' (Clarke, 1897) valid as ''Arothron firmamentum'' * ''Arothron leopardus'' (Day, 1878) valid as '' Chelonodon leopardus'' * ''Arothron perspicillaris'' (Rüppell, 1829) valid as ''Arothron hispidus''

References

Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller {{Tetraodontiformes-stub