Sealife guideThe thornback cowfishLactoria fornasini
Taxonomy
Description
The thornback cowfish has a box-shaped body that resembles a chest. It is distinguished by its long spines located on its head above its eyes, as well as on the dorsal and posterior parts of its body.
The thornback cowfish displays a yellowish to greenish coloration with irregular patterns of bluish or brown spots and lines across its body.
Range
The thornback cowfish is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, especially in the Bali sea, from east Africa to the Bass islands.
Habitat
The thornback cowfish lives in coral reefs and seagrass beds, where it easily hides thanks to its patterns
Did you know ?
The thornback cowfish is a poisonous species of boxfish. Indeed, when stressed or threatened, it secretes toxins as a means of defense against predators
Unlike other fish, the boxfish’s body is covered with a rigid shell made of bony plates, which protects it like armor from predators but also limits its body movements. As a result, the boxfish moves more slowly by undulating its dorsal and anal fins.
Within the same family
Scrawled cowfish
(Acanthostracion quadricornis)
Yellow boxfish
(Ostracion cubicus)
Smooth trunkfish
(Rhinesomus triqueter)
Honeycomb cowfish
(Acanthostracion polygonium)
Spotted boxfish
(Ostracion meleagris)
Reticulate boxfish
(Ostracion solorensis)
Spotted trunkfish
(Lactophrys bicaudalis)
Explore also
Eastern blue devil
(Paraplesiops bleekeri)
Humpnose bigeye bream
(Monotaxis grandoculis)
Ribboned sweetlips
(Plectorhinchus polytaenia)
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(Semicossyphus pulcher)
Sailfin tang
(Zebrasoma velifer)
Vermiculate rabbitfish
(Siganus vermiculatus)
Northern stargazer
(Astroscopus guttatus)
Yellowtail snapper
(Ocyurus chrysurus)
The marine species from Indo-Pacific
Bicolor angelfish
(Centropyge bicolor)
Bigeye trevally
(Caranx sexfasciatus)
Blue tunicate
(Rhopalaea fusca)
Brownbanded bamboo shark
(Chiloscyllium punctatum)
Copperbanded butterfly
(Chelmon rostratus)
Lemonpeel angelfish
(Centropyge flavissima)
Pearl-scaled angelfish
(Centropyge vrolikii)
Thornback cowfish
(Lactoria fornasini)
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