bullseye puffer
Sphoeroides annulatus · Tetraodontidae · omnivore
Soft-bottom puffer of the eastern Pacific, reaching 44 cm and up to 1.6 kg. It is poisonous to eat.
Also called: baiacu-olho-de-boi, botete diana, bullseye puffer
- maximum
- 44 cm
- record/max.
- 1.6 kg
- depth
- 10–60 m
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the bullseye puffer
who is the bullseye puffer
The family Tetraodontidae brings together the puffers, rounded fish that can inflate with water. This species reaches 44 cm and 1.6 kg, and its common length is 18 cm. It lives in the eastern Pacific, from California to Peru and the Galápagos, on soft bottoms, from 10 to 60 m, and juveniles live in estuaries. It makes a loud, grating sound. It is taken in commercial fishing, but it is poisonous to eat, so it should not be taken home to eat.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the bullseye puffer; in the meantime, see the similar species.
fun facts
- It makes a loud, grating sound.
identification
Short, deep body with a very sinuous lateral line, the most useful mark for recognizing it. The nostrils are also unusually shaped. To tell it apart from other puffers of the same coast, such as the longsnout puffer, check this lateral line feature and the body shape.
where found
Found in the eastern Pacific, from California to Peru and the Galápagos, on soft bottoms, with juveniles in estuaries. In Latin America it ranges from Mexico to Peru. There are no records on the Brazilian coast.
Habitat: Soft bottoms, from 10 to 60 m; juveniles live in estuaries.
rules for the bullseye puffer
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
It is poisonous to eat, so never take it home to eat. It has a strong beak: release it quickly, away from your fingers, and handle it as little as possible.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.02754, b = 2.88; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Sphoeroides annulatus (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Sphoeroides annulatusNames by country and language.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: