---
title: "Starry Puffer"
description: "Arothron stellatus — Fish. Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, starry puffer, or starry toadfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/starry-puffer
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Starry Puffer

> Arothron stellatus — Fish. Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, starry puffer, or starry toadfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae.

- Scientific name: *Arothron stellatus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2408
- Wikidata: [Q1519045](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1519045)
- iNaturalist taxon: [196936](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/196936)

## Names

- en: Starry Puffer
- de: Riesenkugelfisch
- es: Botete Estrellado
- fr: Tétrodon étoilé
- nl: Reuzenkogelvis
- pl: Arotron wielki

## Countries with the most observations

AU (376), EG (355), ID (297), HK (116), TH (116), PH (102), MY (82), NC (55), MV (45), TW (44), IN (32), PF (32)

## Summary

Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, starry puffer, or starry toadfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arothron_stellatus

## Photo

![Starry Puffer](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/starry-puffer/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dimitri Brosens · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/269610556

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/starry-puffer?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).