Arothron stellatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360 : 334

Arothron stellatus (Anonymous [ex Commerson, Lacepède] 1798)—Stellate puffer

Status at New Ireland. First recorded from New Ireland as Tetrodon stellatus by Günther (1910: 465–466). A specimen photographed at Lissenung Island, Kavieng District, 10 m depth, by Dean Tully on 26 Sept. 2015.

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 2.—General distribution: Red Sea, East and South Africa, Madagascar and Mascarenes east to Tuamotu Archipelago, north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands, south to Lord Howe Island and northern New Zealand. Found in patch reefs and coral reef slopes near sandy areas of clear lagoon and seaward reefs; juveniles occur in sandy and seagrass inner reefs, 1–58 m depth. Marine.