---
title: "What the sources say about the White-Spotted Pufferfish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "55 claims from the White-Spotted Pufferfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/japanese-pufferfish-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/japanese-pufferfish/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the White-Spotted Pufferfish (*Torquigener albomaculosus*)

> 55 claims from the White-Spotted Pufferfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [White-Spotted Pufferfish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/japanese-pufferfish/)

## Kawase, Okata & Ito (2013). Role of Huge Geometric Circular Structures in the Reproduction of a Marine Pufferfish. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep02106

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The builder is a male about 120 millimeters long. | a small male pufferfish, Torquigener sp. (Tetraodontidae) ( Fig. 1 ), measuring approximately 120 mm in total length |
| His circle is roughly 2 meters across, with 24 to 32 pairs of ridges and valleys fanning out from the middle. | The number of peak and valley pairs ranged from 24–32 (n = 10). |
| Females were seen visiting a nest only in the final stage of building, once the circle was complete. | Females were observed to visit the male's nest only during this stage of construction. |
| The researchers think the female judges his work, though they could not say which feature she scores: the size, the ridges, the shells or the fine sand in the middle. | it appears reasonable to assume that females visiting male nest sites evaluate nest characteristics and that these characteristics play an important role in female mate choice. However, the definite factors affecting this choice remain unknown |
| The authors suggest the valleys do not hold enough fine sand for a second round of eggs. | the valleys may not contain sufficient fine sand particles for multiple reproductive cycles |
| In 1995, divers off Amami-Oshima, an island in southern Japan, found a geometric circle about 2 meters across on the sandy seabed. | A geometric circular structure measuring approximately 2 m in diameter was found in 1995 on the seabed near southern Amami-Oshima Island in subtropical Japan. Subsequently, the circular structure was sporadically observed by native recreational divers. |
| Nobody knew what made it, and the divers named it a "mystery circle." | The origin of the structure was unclear ... The divers named the structure a ‘mystery circle'. |
| In 2011, scientists first caught the builder at work. | We identified a small male pufferfish ... constructing the circular structure on the seabed for the first time in 2011. |
| Then he swims in straight lines from the outside toward the middle, digging with his pectoral, anal and tail fins. | Males dug valleys in the sandy bottom using their pectoral fins, anal fins, and caudal fins while swimming linearly ... swam at various angles in a radial direction from the outside of the circle to the inside |
| The job takes 7 to 9 days, and the finished circle has a radius of 79 to 105 centimeters. | which required 7–9 days to complete ... The radius of the circular structure and that of the final central zone measured 79–105 cm and 31–50 cm, respectively (n = 6 |
| Near the end, the male places shell and coral fragments on the ridges. | males also decorated the radially aligned peaks with shell and coral fragments |
| He also flaps his anal fin over the center to draw an irregular pattern in fine sand, which the ridges help funnel inward. | This pattern was created by flapping the anal fin on the bottom of the central zone ... The pattern was composed of the fine sand particles |
| which the ridges help funnel inward | the radially aligned structure surrounding the nest plays an important role in gathering the fine sand particles and depositing them in the nest site |
| Females were seen visiting only at this final stage. | Females were observed to visit the male's nest only during this stage of construction. |
| As one approaches he stirs up the sand, and when she enters he rushes at her several times. | When a female approached the circular structure, the male stirred up the sand particles in the central zone of the nest. When the female entered the nest, the male retreated from the central zone and rushed towards her several times |
| She stays about a minute, and often comes back. | The female stayed in the nest for a minute and then left, often visiting the same nest again. |
| The eggs are released in the center. | the eggs were released into the central zone of the nest |
| After spawning, the male stays 6 days to care for the eggs and does no repairs. | After spawning, males remained in the circular structure for 6 days to care for the eggs ... They did not perform digging or other maintenance behaviour |
| Currents smooth the circle almost flat. | the structure gradually collapsed and was smoothed to become almost flat by water currents |
| No male in the study went back to an old nest: each built a new one at a separate site. | they never returned to an old nest site but instead began to construct a new circular structure at a separate site |
| When the first study came out in 2013, this fish had been found only off southern Amami-Oshima, in small numbers and in very restricted areas. | Thus far, the fish has only been found in the coastal waters off southern Amami-Oshima Island ... the fish has been found, in small numbers, in very restricted areas (note: 2013 is the publication year of Kawase, Okata & Ito, Scientific Reports) |
| In a flow experiment on a half-scale model of a circle, the current in the center was 24.2% lower than outside. | The current speed in the central zone was reduced by 24.2% from that of outside the circular structure. (note: half scale from 'A fluid dynamics experiment using a 1/2 scale model of the circular structure') |
| spends 7 to 9 days digging a sand circle about 2 meters wide | A geometric circular structure measuring approximately 2 m in diameter ... which required 7–9 days to complete |
| Sand architecture: digs a circle about 2 meters wide, ridged like a wheel, with its fins | Males dug valleys in the sandy bottom using their pectoral fins, anal fins, and caudal fins while swimming linearly (note: 2 m from 'approximately 2 m in diameter'; ridges from 'radially aligned peaks and valleys') |
| It was a male white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus), about 120 millimeters long. | measuring approximately 120 mm in total length |
| In 2013 the researchers wrote that three features of this nest had never been reported in any fish: ridges built around the nest site, shell decorations on them, and a pattern of fine sand in the middle. | the nest exhibited 3 unusual characteristics that have never been reported in fish. First, radially aligned peaks and valleys were created outside the nest site; second, the peaks were decorated with shell fragments; and third, fine sand particles were gathered in the nest site to create an irregular pattern. (note: 2013 is the publication year of Kawase, Okata & Ito, Scientific Reports) |
| His circle is roughly 2 meters across | A geometric circular structure measuring approximately 2 m in diameter |
| digs a circle about 2 meters wide | A geometric circular structure measuring approximately 2 m in diameter |
| Each valley is as wide as the male's body | The width of the valleys matches the male's body width |
| a flat central zone of 31 to 50 centimeters in radius is left in the middle | the radius of the circular structure and that of the final central zone measured 79–105 cm and 31–50 cm |
| Females were seen visiting a nest only in the final stage of building, once the circle was complete. | During the final stage of construction (on the day of and the day before spawning), the circular structure was completed. |
| No. By the time the eggs hatch, coarser sand has covered the fine sand in the middle and the ridges have washed almost flat. He starts again somewhere else. | the structure gradually collapsed and was smoothed to become almost flat by water currents ... the fine sand particles were dispersed and replaced by coarser sand particles |
| No. By the time the eggs hatch, coarser sand has covered the fine sand in the middle and the ridges have washed almost flat. He starts again somewhere else. | After the eggs hatched, males left the nest site ... they never returned to an old nest site but instead began to construct a new circular structure at a separate site. |
| In a flow experiment on a half-scale model of a circle, the current in the center was 24.2% lower than outside. | A fluid dynamics experiment using a 1/2 scale model of the circular structure |
| A male of about 120 mm swims straight lines | measuring approximately 120 mm in total length ... Males dug valleys in the sandy bottom using their pectoral fins, anal fins, and caudal fins while swimming linearly (note: vibe.reason; two passages of the same paper joined) |
| and a 2 m ridged circle appears | A geometric circular structure measuring approximately 2 m in diameter (note: vibe.reason; the ridges are the peak and valley pairs the paper describes) |

## Mizuuchi et al. (2018). Simple rules for construction of a geometric nest structure by pufferfish. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30857-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The male starts by pushing his belly into the sand to mark the center. | a pufferfish makes a mark by pushing its belly on the sandy bottom as the central region of a nest |
| One study estimated about 10,000 digs for a whole nest. | The total number of excavation through the nest construction is about 10000. This number was approximated from (frequency) × (total time) |
| A computer simulation built from a male's recorded digs reproduced the radial ditches of the outer ring, suggesting that simple repeated moves can make the pattern. | A simulation program based on these data successfully reproduced the circle pattern, suggesting that the complex circle structure can be created by the repetition of simple actions by the pufferfish. |
| About 10,000 Digs | The total number of excavation through the nest construction is about 10000. |
| Researchers filmed one male building a nest in 2016 and logged where each ditch started, how long it ran and which way it pointed. A simulation that followed those rules drew the circle pattern, which suggests repeating simple actions can make it. | the videos were recorded on June 8 and 12, 2016 for the early- and middle-stage construction of the same nest |
| Researchers filmed one male building a nest in 2016 and logged where each ditch started, how long it ran and which way it pointed. A simulation that followed those rules drew the circle pattern, which suggests repeating simple actions can make it. | The entry position, the length, and the direction of each ditch were recorded. A simulation program based on these data successfully reproduced the circle pattern, suggesting that the complex circle structure can be created by the repetition of simple actions by the pufferfish. |
| It was a male white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus), about 120 millimeters long. | Kawase et al . found that the large circle is a nest structure built by a small male pufferfish, Torquigener albomaculosus |

## Torquigener albomaculosus, White-spotted pufferfish. FishBase.

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Torquigener-albomaculosus.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Sandy seabed off Amami-Oshima, in the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, seen by divers at 10 to 27 meters and around 30 meters | depth range 10 - 27 m (note: Northwest Pacific: Japan, Ryukyu Is.) |
| Sandy seabed off Amami-Oshima, in the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, seen by divers at 10 to 27 meters and around 30 meters | This species has been observed by divers at 10-27 m on sandy bottom. |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435 : Version 2025-2 (Global)) Not Evaluated (note: GBIF and Crossref hold no assessment for this name) |
| FishBase gives a maximum of 12.0 cm total length for a male and 9.1 cm standard length (snout to tail base) for a female. | Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 97259 ); 9.1 cm SL (female) |
| Divers have seen it at 10 to 27 meters on sandy bottom. | This species has been observed by divers at 10-27 m on sandy bottom. |
| A 12-centimeter pufferfish | Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed |
| Sandy seabed off Amami-Oshima, in the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, seen by divers at 10 to 27 meters and around 30 meters | Another population is found around 30 m at the northern part of Amami-oshima Island. |
| Sandy seabed off Amami-Oshima, in the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, seen by divers at 10 to 27 meters and around 30 meters | builds "mystery circles" on sandy bottoms in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan |
| Not stated by the sources on this page | Trophic level (Ref. 69278 ) 3.3 ±0.2 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives (note: true by construction: none of the three sources states a diet for the species; FishBase's trophic level is inferred from relatives, not observed) |
| FishBase now adds another population at around 30 meters off the island's north. | Another population is found around 30 m at the northern part of Amami-oshima Island. |
| to impress a date | The circular structure plays an important role in influencing female mate choice |
| dangerLevel: Low | Threat to humans Harmless |