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Stellate puffer
Arothron stellatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Stellate puffer
- Scientific
- Arothron stellatus
- Dhivehi
- Koli
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1.2 m (total length); commonly 54 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 3 to 58 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2011
Description
One of the largest pufferfish, reaching about 1.2 m. Adults are pale with many small black spots, while juveniles are orange with dark stripes on the belly. It lives near sandy areas on lagoon and outer reefs and sometimes swims high above the bottom.
In the Maldives
FishBase (Maldives) gives the general name koli.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Arothron-stellatus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6526&GenusName=Arothron&SpeciesName=s
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Arothron_stellatus_1.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Koli' (Latin script). FLAG: single source. FLAG: generic name for the group, not species-specific.