FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 72, NO. 4 



Table 71. — Food of Canthigaster amboinensis. 



Canthigaster jactator (Jenkins) 



This small pufferfish lives mostly where corals 

 are well developed. Like its congener C am- 

 boinensis, above, it is mostly solitary, although 

 sometimes several occur together. It swims close 

 among the coral during daylight, but is only occa- 

 sionally in view at night, probably because it usu- 

 ally rests in reef crevices after dark. Once during 

 the predawn hours, as noted above, I observed a 

 nocturnally active moray eel, Gymnothorax 

 petelli, grasping one of these puffers between its 

 jaws. 



Thirteen individuals (50: 40-70 mm) were 

 speared at various times of day and night. Four 

 were taken during daylight, and these were the 

 only ones that had material in the anterior third of 

 their gut, much of it relatively fresh. In two others 



taken at night (one 4 h after sunset, the other 

 during the last hour before daybreak), food was 

 confined to the posterior two-thirds of their guts, 

 but much of it was still largely identifiable. In 

 comparison, the remaining seven, collected either 

 at night (more than 4 h after sunset), or during 

 morning twilight, were empty. Items in the six 

 specimens that contained identifiable material 

 are listed in Table 72. 



CONCLUSION. —Canthigaster jactator is a 

 diurnal omnivore that feeds mostly on coralline 

 algae and various hard-bodied benthic inver- 

 tebrates. 



Remarks on Sharpbacked Puffers 



The canthigasterids are widely recognized as 

 omnivorous fishes that feed on benthic plants and 



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