Sphoeroides annulatus

Bullseye puffer | Gulf Puffer
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus, adult, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus, Machalilla, Ecuador, Photo: Graham Edgar
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Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus
Sphoeroides annulatus

Distribution

Tropical Eastern Pacific


Description

Grey body with a series of often broken and irregular concentric, light circles centred on mid back, and often a scattering of dark spots on sides. Underside pale. When sitting on the bottom it flattens its underside, though often seen swimming in mid-water above the reef and at the surface.


Information

Max Size: 44 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 16-29.3°C

Depth: 1-105m

Habitat Generalization Index: 1.61

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Infrequent (8.3% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (5 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: Joe Shields