''Canthigaster epilampra'', known as the lantern toby, is a
species of pufferfish in the family
Tetraodontidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species that ranges from
Christmas Island in the west to the
Hawaiian and
Society Islands in the east, the
Ryukyu Islands in the north, and
Tonga and
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...
in the south. It inhabits outer reef slopes at a depth of 6 to 60 m (20 to 197 ft), and it is usually seen at depths greater than 24 m (79 ft). It reaches 12 cm (4.7 inches) in total length, and it feeds on
mollusks
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
,
echinoderms,
brachiopods, and
algae
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
. The species is usually encountered alone or in pairs.
References
epilampra
Fish described in 1903
{{Tetraodontiformes-stub