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The boxfishes are a family, Ostraciidae, of squared, bony fish
Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii constitute the Class of the ray-finned fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii....
 belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes
Tetraodontiformes

The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived Actinopterygii, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the Perciformes....
, closely related to the pufferfish
Pufferfish

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, and toadies....
es and filefish
Filefish

Filefish are tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish of the diverse family Monacanthidae. Found in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Oceans, the filefish family contains approximately 107 species in 26 genus....
es. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes.

Boxfishes occupy the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Indian
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
, and Pacific ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s, generally at middle latitudes, although the common or buffalo trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus) which lives mainly in Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 waters may be found as far north as Cape Cod
Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to as simply the Cape, is a peninsula in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States....
.






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The boxfishes are a family, Ostraciidae, of squared, bony fish
Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii constitute the Class of the ray-finned fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii....
 belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes
Tetraodontiformes

The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived Actinopterygii, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the Perciformes....
, closely related to the pufferfish
Pufferfish

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, and toadies....
es and filefish
Filefish

Filefish are tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish of the diverse family Monacanthidae. Found in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Oceans, the filefish family contains approximately 107 species in 26 genus....
es. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes.

Boxfishes occupy the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Indian
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
, and Pacific ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s, generally at middle latitudes, although the common or buffalo trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus) which lives mainly in Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 waters may be found as far north as Cape Cod
Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to as simply the Cape, is a peninsula in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States....
. The cowfish variety Lactophrys quadricornis can grow to be 50 cm or less in size, but are generally smaller at higher latitudes.

They come in a variety of different colors, and are notable for the hexagonal or "honeycomb" patterns in their skin and skeletons. They swim in a rowing manner. The hexagonal plate-like scales of these fish are fused together into a solid, triangular, box-like carapace
Carapace

A carapace is a Dorsum section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids as well as vertebrates such as chelonians, order Testudines, turtles and tortoises....
, from which the fins and tail protrude. Young boxfishes are more rounded in shape and may exhibit bright colors. Because of these heavy armoured scales, boxfishes are limited to slow movements, but few other fish are able to eat the adults. Boxfish of the Genus Lactophrys also secrete poisons from their skin into the surrounding water, further protecting them from predation.

Classification


Lactophrys Bicaudalis
Trunkfish
Family OSTRACIIDAE
  • Genus Acanthostracion
    • Acanthostracion guineensis (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1865)      .
    • Island cowfish, Acanthostracion notacanthus (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1863)      .
    • Honeycomb cowfish
      Honeycomb cowfish

      The honeycomb cowfish, Acanthostracion polygonius, belongs to the Ostraciidae family and is closely related to boxfish and trunkfish....
      , Acanthostracion polygonius Poey
      Felipe Poey

      Felipe Poey y Aloy was a Cuban zoologist....
      , 1876      .
    • Scrawled cowfish
      Scrawled cowfish

      The scrawled cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis, belongs to the Ostraciidae family and is closely related to boxfish and trunkfish. They range in size from 8-15 inches, with a maximum length of 18 inches, and can be found at depths between 6 and 80 feet....
      , Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
  • Genus Lactophrys
    • Spotted trunkfish
      Spotted trunkfish

      The Spotted Trunkfish is a member of the family Ostraciidae. It can be found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean....
      , Lactophrys bicaudalis (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
    • Buffalo trunkfish, Lactophrys trigonus (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
    • Smooth trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
  • Genus Lactoria
    • Longhorn cowfish
      Longhorn cowfish

      The longhorn cowfish, Lactoria cornuta, is a variety of boxfish from the Ostraciidi family, recognisable by its long horns that protrude from the front of its head, rather like those of a cow or bull....
      , Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
    • Roundbelly cowfish, Lactoria diaphana (Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
       & Schneider
      Johann Gottlob Schneider

      Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German Empire classicist and natural history.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony. In 1774, on the recommendation of Christian Gottlob Heine, he became secretary to the famous Strasbourg scholar Richard Fran?ois Brunck, and in 1811 became professor of ancient languages and eloquence at Breslau...
      , 1801)      .
    • Thornback cowfish, Lactoria fornasini (Bianconi, 1846).
    • Lactoria paschae (Rendahl, 1921).
  • Genus Ostracion
    Ostracion

    The genus Ostracion, is a member of the boxfish family containing nine species....
    • Yellow boxfish
      Yellow boxfish

      The Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus, is a boxfish of the genus Ostracion, and can be found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean....
      , Ostracion cubicus Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758      .
    • Bluetail trunkfish, Ostracion cyanurus Rüppell
      Eduard Rüppell

      Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon R?ppell was a Germany Natural history and List of explorers. R?ppell is occasionally transliterated to "Rueppell" for the English alphabet....
      , 1828      .
    • Ostracion immaculatus Temminck
      Coenraad Jacob Temminck

      Coenraad Jacob Temminck was a Netherlands aristocrat and zoologist.Temminck was the first director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden from 1820 until his death....
       & Schlegel
      Hermann Schlegel

      Hermann Schlegel was a Germany ornithologist....
      , 1850      .
    • Whitespotted boxfish, Ostracion meleagris Shaw, 1796.
    • Shortnose boxfish, Ostracion nasus Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
      , 1785      .
    • Horn-nosed boxfish, Ostracion rhinorhynchos Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1852      .
    • Reticulate boxfish, Ostracion solorensis
      Ostracion solorensis

      Ostracion solorensis is a Boxfish from the Western Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 12cm in length....
       Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1853      .
    • Roughskin trunkfish, Ostracion trachys Randall, 1975.
    • Whitley's box, Ostracion whitleyi Fowler, 1931.
  • Genus Paracanthostracion
    • Paracanthostracion lindsayi (Phillipps, 1932).
  • Genus Tetrosomus
    • Triangular boxfish, Tetrosomus concatenatus (Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
      , 1785)      .
    • Humpback turretfish, Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1758)      .
    • Smallspine turretfish, Tetrosomus reipublicae (Ogilby
      William Ogilby

      William Ogilby was an Ireland barrister and natural history.Ogilby was honorary secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 1839 to 1846....
      , 1913)      .
    • Tetrosomus stellifer (Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
       & Schneider
      Johann Gottlob Schneider

      Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German Empire classicist and natural history.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony. In 1774, on the recommendation of Christian Gottlob Heine, he became secretary to the famous Strasbourg scholar Richard Fran?ois Brunck, and in 1811 became professor of ancient languages and eloquence at Breslau...
      , 1801)      .