The head is large with a short snout that has two pairs of nostrils, and the mouth is terminal with four strong teeth.

The young adults still have stripes on the ventral area that will turn to spots later, and also some recollection of yellow on the body.

This species is found in tropical and subtropical waters from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea as far as Polynesia, southern Japan, the western, northern and eastern coasts of Australia and Lord Howe Island.

[9] Arothron stellatus feeds on benthic invertebrates, sponges, algae, the polyps of corals such as Acropora, crustaceans and mollusks.

[7] Arothron stellatus contains a highly toxic poison, tetrodotoxin, in its ovaries and to a lesser extent its skin and liver, which protects it from voracious predators.