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Canthigaster leoparda

Leopard Toby

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Image:	Adult in aquarium, Rarotonga	27KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Leopard Toby, Leopard Pufferfish, Leopard Sharpnose Puffer; German Leoparden-Spitzkopfkugelfisch; French Canthigaster Léopard

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Christmas (Indian Ocean) - Guam; n. to Philippines; Cooks (Disjunct)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Typically within caves on steep dropoffs at 30-100m. PLUS: ; Marine, near-shore, outer reef-slope, 100m

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Not eaten.; Poisonous to eat?

KEY FEATURES: A puffer to 7cm SL. Topside of face and body are yellow with blue lines; the sides and underside are white with blue spots; the sides with several clusters of brown blotches. Fins clear, except tail. [The only photographed Cooks specimen had a white blotch between the eyes, and lacked the blue spots on the sides and underside. GMcC.]

Enlarged Image of 'Canthigaster leoparda'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Canthigaster leoparda Lubbock & Allen, 1979
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Tetraodontoidea; TETRAODONTIDAE, Canthigastrinae

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: specimen, Chip Boyle, 2/5/99, off Ngatangiia School, Photo GMc this DB.

References:
text p.268 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 144a Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.647 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 137-08 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 104-09 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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