Canthigaster margaritata
Spot this small pufferfish year-round in South Sinai and Marsa Alam, comfortable in warm Red Sea water from 24.7 to 29.2 C.
Small and stout, topping out around 7 cm, with a rounded body that tapers to a small tail fin. Look for a mottled brown to olive back scattered with pale spots, fading to a paler belly, and large eyes set high on a blunt face. It swims with a distinctive slow, almost hovering action, using tiny fin flicks rather than a sweeping tail stroke.
Usually seen cruising slowly over shallow reef flats and rubble patches in the top 10 metres, often alone and unbothered by divers nearby. It tends to hover close to structure rather than dart for cover, giving photographers a decent window before it eventually ducks into a crevice.
Like other members of its family, it can inflate its body with water when threatened, a last-resort defence that makes it briefly too large and awkward for most predators to swallow.
No clear seasonal pattern shows in the sightings, and with a comfortable range of 24.7 to 29.2 C it's present on Red Sea reefs all year round.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Most commonly logged across Egypt's Red Sea coast, especially South Sinai and Marsa Alam & the Deep South, with a strong presence along the Red Sea Riviera further north. It also turns up reliably at Aqaba in Jordan, the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia, and Eilat in Israel, making it a near-guaranteed shallow-reef sighting anywhere along the Red Sea.
Mapping where Pufferfish is logged…
It's most reliably seen in Egypt, particularly South Sinai and Marsa Alam & the Deep South, with further sightings along the Red Sea Riviera. It also shows up at Aqaba in Jordan, the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia, and Eilat in Israel.
There's no strong seasonal pattern in the sightings, so it's a year-round find on Red Sea reefs where water stays a comfortable 24.7 to 29.2 C.
Look for a small, rounded fish around 7 cm long with a mottled brown to olive back, scattered pale spots, and large eyes on a blunt face. It moves slowly with small fin flicks rather than fast tail strokes, usually near reef structure or rubble.
This species stays small, typically reaching about 7 cm in length, making it one of the more compact reef pufferfish divers encounter.
Yes, it can gulp water to inflate its body when threatened, a defence shared across the pufferfish family that makes it awkward for predators to swallow.
No, it poses no danger to divers and will typically just retreat toward reef structure if approached too closely.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Valentini Pufferfish
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