Canthigaster

Sharpnose puffer
	Canthigaster rostrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Division:	Teleostei
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Tetraodontidae
Genus:	Canthigaster; Swainson, 1839
Type species
	Tetrodon rostratus; (Bloch, 1786)
Species
	39; see text.

Canthigaster is a genus in the pufferfish family (Tetraodontidae). Species of this genus are commonly referred to as tobies (a generally accepted name that originated in Australia) or sharpnose puffers.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κανθός (canthós), meaning "corner of the eye", and γαστήρ (gastḗr), meaning "belly"

Species

Canthigaster is the most speciose genus in Tetraodontidae. It includes the following species:


Image	Species	Common name
	Canthigaster amboinensis (Bleeker, 1865)	Spider-eye puffer
	Canthigaster axiologus Whitley, 1931	Pacific crown toby
	Canthigaster aziz Matsuura, Bogorodsky, Mal & Alpermann 2020	Aziz's toby
	Canthigaster bennetti (Bleeker, 1854)	Bennett's sharpnose puffer
	Canthigaster caeruleolineata Fricke, Wickel, Pinault, Nicet & Delrieu-Trottin, 2022	Blue-lined toby
	Canthigaster callisterna (J. D. Ogilby, 1889)	Clown toado
	Canthigaster capistrata (R. T. Lowe, 1839)	Macaronesian sharpnose-puffer
	Canthigaster compressa (Marion de Procé, 1822)	Compressed toby
	Canthigaster coronata (Vaillant & Sauvage, 1875)	Crowned puffer
	Canthigaster criobe J. T. Williams, Delrieu-Trottin & Planes, 2012	Striped toby
	Canthigaster cyanetron J. E. Randall & Cea Egaña, 1989
	Canthigaster cyanospilota J. E. Randall, J. T. Williams & L. A. Rocha, 2008
	Canthigaster epilampra (O. P. Jenkins, 1903)	Lantern toby
	Canthigaster figueiredoi R. L. Moura & R. M. C. Castro, 2002	Southern Atlantic sharpnose-puffer
	Canthigaster flavoreticulata Matsuura, 1986
	Canthigaster inframacula G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977
	Canthigaster investigatoris (Annandale & J. T. Jenkins, 1910)
	Canthigaster jactator (O. P. Jenkins, 1901)	Hawaiian whitespotted toby
	Canthigaster jamestyleri R. L. Moura & R. M. C. Castro, 2002	Goldface toby
	Canthigaster janthinoptera (Bleeker, 1855)	Honeycomb toby
	Canthigaster leoparda Lubbock & G. R. Allen, 1979	Leopard sharpnose puffer
	Canthigaster margaritata (Rüppell, 1829)	Pearl toby
	Canthigaster marquesensis G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977
	Canthigaster natalensis (Günther, 1870)	Natal toby
	Canthigaster ocellicincta G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977	Shy toby
	Canthigaster papua (Bleeker, 1848)	Papuan toby
	Canthigaster petersii (Bianconi, 1854)	Peter's toby
	Canthigaster punctata Matsuura, 1992
	Canthigaster punctatissima (Günther, 1870)	Spotted sharpnosed puffer
	Canthigaster pygmaea G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977	Pygmy toby
	Canthigaster rapaensis G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977
	Canthigaster rivulata (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)	Brown-lined puffer
	Canthigaster rostrata (Bloch, 1786)	Caribbean sharpnose-puffer
	Canthigaster sanctaehelenae (Günther, 1870)	St. Helena sharpnose pufferfish
	Canthigaster smithae G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977	Bicolored toby
	Canthigaster solandri (Richardson, 1845)	Spotted sharpnose
	Canthigaster supramacula R. L. Moura & R. M. C. Castro, 2002	West African sharpnose-puffer
	Canthigaster tyleri G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 1977	Tyler's toby
	Canthigaster valentini (Bleeker, 1853)	Valentinni's sharpnose puffer

References

↑ Scott W. Michael, "Tobies or Pufferfish" Retrieved 15 Jan 2013 from http://www.fishchannel.com/media/saltwater-aquariums/species-info/puffer/call-them-tobies.aspx.pdf Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Canthigaster axiologus summary page".
↑ Matsuura, Keiichi (2015-01-01). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5. ISSN 1616-3915.
↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Canthigaster". FishBase. October 2012 version.
1 2 Williams, J.T., Delrieu-Trottin, E. & Planes, S. (2012): A new species of Indo-Pacific fish, Canthigaster criobe, with comments on other Canthigaster (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) at the Gambier Archipelago. Zootaxa, 3523: 80–88.
↑ Matsuura, Keiichi et al. “Canthigaster aziz, a new deep-dwelling toby fish (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from the Red Sea.” Zootaxa vol. 4834,1 zootaxa.4834.1.5. 18 Aug. 2020, doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4834.1.5
↑ "Canthigaster caeruleolineata summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
↑ "Canthigaster petersii summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2026-09-28.

This Tetraodontiformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] Scott W. Michael, "Tobies or Pufferfish" Retrieved 15 Jan 2013 from http://www.fishchannel.com/media/saltwater-aquariums/species-info/puffer/call-them-tobies.aspx.pdf Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

[2] "Canthigaster axiologus summary page".

[3] Matsuura, Keiichi (2015-01-01). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5. ISSN 1616-3915.

[4] Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Canthigaster". FishBase. October 2012 version.

[Williams2012-5] 1 2 Williams, J.T., Delrieu-Trottin, E. & Planes, S. (2012): A new species of Indo-Pacific fish, Canthigaster criobe, with comments on other Canthigaster (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) at the Gambier Archipelago. Zootaxa, 3523: 80–88.

[6] Matsuura, Keiichi et al. “Canthigaster aziz, a new deep-dwelling toby fish (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from the Red Sea.” Zootaxa vol. 4834,1 zootaxa.4834.1.5. 18 Aug. 2020, doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4834.1.5

[7] "Canthigaster caeruleolineata summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2026-09-28.

[8] "Canthigaster petersii summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2026-09-28.

Sharpnose puffer

Canthigaster rostrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Division:	Teleostei
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Tetraodontidae
Genus:	Canthigaster Swainson, 1839
Type species
Tetrodon rostratus (Bloch, 1786)
Species
39; see text.