This Spotted Puffer (Arothron maleagris) was sleeping on the bottom when I saw it on a night dive.  Puffers have two means of defense. First, they can suck in massive amounts of water to puff themselves into a large ball (this one was about the size of a basketball). Second, if the size doesn�t deter a predator, the tetradotoxin in its liver and sex organs is one of the most powerful poisons known. Fugu, a pufferfish considered a gourmet delicacy in Japan, kills as many as 50 unlucky gourmets a year. Note the commensal shrimp on the far right of the photo.

This puffer was photographed at night in about 30 feet of water off the south Kohala Coast near the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii.