Sealife guideThe scrawled cowfishAcanthostracion quadricornis
Last updated on 03/01/2024 at 07:52 PM
Taxonomy
Description
The scrawled cowfish has a body with very angular shapes, giving it the appearance of a box and earning it the name boxfish. Moreover, its body is covered with bony plates that provide to him a protection. The presence of two horn-like protrusions on the upper part of its head gives it a silhouette reminiscent of a bull.
The scrawled cowfish displays characteristic disordered bluish spots and stripes resembling graffiti!
The dominant color of the scrawled cowfish is yellowish with characteristic disordered and irregular bluish spots and stripes resembling graffiti !
The scrawled cowfish typically measures around twenty centimeters in length on average but can reach up to fifty centimeters for the largest specimens.
Geographic range
The scrawled cowfish is found in the tropical waters of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea around many Caribbean islands such as
Guadeloupe or Martinique, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat
The scrawled cowfish frequents the coral reefs around the numerous islands of the Caribbean Sea and the coasts of Florida.
Diet
The scrawled cowfish feeds mainly on small marine invertebrates.
The scrawled cowfish (Acanthostracion quadricornis)
Did you know ?
The scrawled cowfish is listed as many other marine species within The
IUCN Red List of threatened species. The scrawled cowfish appears in the
IUCN Red List since 2015 within the category Least Concern !
Tips for observing
Be careful not to confuse the scrawled cowfish with the honeycomb cowfish, which has very regular hexagonal patterns similar to the cells of a beehive.
The scrawled cowfish (Acanthostracion quadricornis)
Within the same genus
Honeycomb cowfish
(Acanthostracion polygonium)
Within the same family
Reticulate boxfish
(Ostracion solorensis)
Smooth trunkfish
(Rhinesomus triqueter)
Spotted boxfish
(Ostracion meleagris)
Spotted trunkfish
(Lactophrys bicaudalis)
Thornback cowfish
(Lactoria fornasini)
Yellow boxfish
(Ostracion cubicus)
Discover also
Angler
(Lophius piscatorius)
Atlantic mackerel
(Scomber scombrus)
Axelrod's clown blenny
(Ecsenius axelrodi)
Dusky grouper
(Epinephelus marginatus)
Lyretail hogfish
(Bodianus anthioides)
Mimic surgeonfish
(Acanthurus pyroferus)
Mottled warbonnet
(Chirolophis japonicus)
Sergeant major
(Abudefduf saxatilis)
The marine species from Caribbean sea
Batwing coral crab
(Carpilius corallinus)
Giant caribbean anemone
(Condylactis gigantea)
Honeycomb cowfish
(Acanthostracion polygonium)
Labyrinthine brain coral
(Diploria labyrinthiformis)
Long-spined sea urchin
(Diadema antillarum)
Midnight parrotfish
(Scarus coelestinus)
Spotted drum
(Equetus punctatus)
Dive centers
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Noa dive center
