Blackspotted puffer

The blackspotted puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus), also known as the dog-faced puffer, is a tropical marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.

Arothron nigropunctatus is a small sized fish which grows up to 33 cm (1 ft) length. Its body is oval shape, spherical and relatively elongated. The skin is not covered with scales. The fish has no pelvic fin and no lateral line.The dorsal fin and the anal fin are small, symmetric and located at the end of the body. Its snout is short with two pairs of nostrils and its mouth is terminal with four strong teeth.

This species is found in tropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the central islands of the Pacific Ocean, roughly equalling the Indo-Pacific, except the Red Sea. It lives close to external reef slopes and lagoons from the surface to 25 m (82 ft) depth.

Arothron nigropunctatus holds the deadly poison tetrodotoxin, which protect it from predators. In order to ward off potential enemies, they can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water.

A predator that manages to snag a puffer before it inflates won’t feel lucky for long. Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to fish. To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.