Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Blackspotted puffer
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Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Blackspotted puffer

Arothron nigropunctatus

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Blackspotted puffer
Scientific
Arothron nigropunctatus
Dhivehi
Koli
Group
Reef fish
Family
Tetraodontidae (pufferfishes)
Maximum size
Up to about 33 cm (total length)
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 60 m
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2011

Description

A pufferfish of variable colour, grey, brown or yellow, with scattered large black spots and a dark snout, reaching about 33 cm. It bites off the tips of Acropora corals and eats sponges and other invertebrates.

In the Maldives

FishBase (Maldives) gives the general name koli.

Sources

  • fishbase.se /summary/Arothron-nigropunctatus.html
  • fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6400&GenusName=Arothron&SpeciesName=n
  • commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Botete_cara_de_perro_(Arothron_nigropunctatus),_Nosy_Sakati

Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Koli' (Latin script). FishBase also lists 'Reendu-koli' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: single source. FLAG: generic name for the group, not species-specific.