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| Many-lined Pufferfish | Arothron multilineatus
Matsuura, 2016
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Abstract
A new pufferfish, Arothron multilineatus, is described on the basis of four specimens collected from southern Japan. It is distinguished from the other 13 species of Arothron by having many longitudinal white lines on the dark greenish-brown head and body. Underwater photographs of this new pufferfish have revealed that it is widely distributed in the tropical regions of the Indo-West Pacific including the Red Sea. A key to the species of Arothron is provided.
Keywords: Tetraodontidae, New species, Arothron, Taxonomy, Distribution
Arothron multilineatus sp. nov.
(English name: Many-lined Pufferfish; New Japanese
name: Tasuji-fugu)
Distribution. Arothron multilineatus has been observed by SCUBA divers at depths from 10 m to 25 m on the sandy bottom along the south coast of Amami-oshima Island of the Ryukyu Islands. Judging from collection localities of the type specimens and underwater photographs taken in the Ryukyu Islands (Kimiaki Ito), Mozambique (Angela Lund) and the Red Sea (Richard Field), and a literature record from the Philippines (Schroeder 1980), Arothron multilineatus is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-West Pacific.
Etymology. The specific name, multilineatus, refers to many white lines on the head and body.
Keiichi Matsuura. 2016. A New Pufferfish, Arothron multilineatus (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), from the Indo-West Pacific. Ichthyological Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10228-016-0517-8
