Its snout is short with two pairs of nostrils and its mouth contains four strong teeth which have fused into an edged beak.

[8] These teeth continue to grow throughout A. mappa's entire life, and must be constantly dulled by consuming hard-shelled prey.

[8] Courting begins when an A. mappa male constructs a large flattened circle in a substrate by using its fins to dig and stir up sand particles.

[4] Arothron mappa contains tetrodotoxin - an extremely toxic sodium channel blocker which protects it from predators.

A. mappa do not manufacture the tetrodotoxin compound themselves, rather, it is produced by endosymbiotic bacteria within the pufferfish that is passed down through the food chain.

Cases of extreme infection and bloating caused by Philometra in an individual pufferfish can result in their rapid ascension to surface waters and consequent predation due to lack of shelter and mobility.

[5] The skin, liver, gonads, and intestines of the map puffer should not be consumed, as they contain high concentrations of the tetrodotoxin.