Spotted Sharpnose Puffer, Canthigaster punctatissima
Spotted Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthiagaster punctatissima. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 6.0 cm (2.4 inches).
Spotted Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthiagaster punctatissima. Fish collected alive off the beach during a big wave episode, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, May 2022. Length: 7.5 cm (3.0 inches).
Spotted Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthiagaster punctatissima. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo, www.Divezihuantanejo.com.
Spotted Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthiagaster punctatissima. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2019. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.
Spotted Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthiagaster punctatissima. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photographs courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer, Canthigaster punctatissima, is a member of the Puffer or Tetraodonitidae Family, and known in Mexico as botete bonito or simply botete. Globally, there are twenty-three species in the genus Canthigaster, of which two are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer has a robust slightly compressed bodies whose depth is 47% to 51% of standard length. They have an overall dark brown coloration and, with the exception of their whitish belly and transparent fins, are covered with numerous small white spots. Their head is large and blunt with large elevated eyes, a small mouth, and a long pointed snout. They have strong powerful teeth. Their back has a distinctive crest between the eyes and dorsal fin. They have short gill openings that end before their pectoral fins. Their anal fin has 8 to 10 rays; their dorsal fin has 8 to 10 rays. Both fins are are small and similar in shape and location, have short bases, and are found well back on the body. Their caudal fin is rounded with 10 rays; their pectoral fins have 15 to 18 rays; and, they do not have pelvic fins. Their body is scaleless and the skin is smooth but tough with a few small spines.
The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer is a common inhabitant of rocky reefs and are found near the surface and at depths up to 24 m (80 feet). They reach a maximum of 9.0 cm (3.5 inches) in length. The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited range being found around the southern tip of Baja, Baja California Sur, in the southern two-thirds of the Sea of the Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.
The Spotted Sharpnose Puffer is an easy fish to identify due to its unique markings and cannot be confused with any other species.
From a conservation perspective the Spotted Sharpnose Puffer is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are a seldom catch by hook and line and are collected by commercial fishermen as a by-catch using nets. The amount, if any, of tetrodotoxin contained in their bodies and the related concerns about the potential health threat to humans from eating this fish is unknown. Due to their small stature, this should normally not be an issue as they are of limited interest to most.