This species is moderately common at Kwajalein, often seen in seaward reef channels and on the slope. It closely resembles a poisonous sharpnose puffer, Canthigaster valentini, and is considered a Batesian mimic. Sometimes in the field one has to look fairly closely to distinguish the two species. If you are close enough to see the fins, in the file, the second dorsal fin runs continuously from about midbody to near the caudal peduncle. (The first dorsal is the hard spine just behind the eye, laid flat in the photo below.) In C. valentini, the dorsal fin is a smaller tuft, usually extending from right behind the third dorsal black saddle.
Created 22 October 2010
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