The Boxfishes are a family, Ostraciidae, of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. 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. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes.

In aquaria

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Boxfish generally are very personable fish yet are poorly suited for the home aquaria. They are not thought of as an ordinary aquarium tank mate, but are quickly gaining popularity. They do pose a hazard in the community tank however. They are capable of releasing a very powerful toxin which can kill other fish and in some cases, the boxfish itself. They generally only use it when threatened or dying, but can become disturbed easily with aggressive tank mates or overcrowded aquarium. Generally boxfish are not reef safe.

Genera and species

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• Genus Acanthostracion
  • Acanthostracion guineensis (Bleeker, 1865).
  • Island cowfish, Acanthostracion notacanthus (Bleeker, 1863).
  • Honeycomb cowfish, Acanthostracion polygonius Poey, 1876.
  • Scrawled cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus, 1758).
• Genus Lactophrys
  • Spotted trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Buffalo trunkfish, Lactophrys trigonus (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Smooth trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter (Linnaeus, 1758).
• Genus Lactoria
  • Longhorn cowfish, Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Roundbelly cowfish, Lactoria diaphana (Bloch & Schneider, 1801).
  • Thornback cowfish, Lactoria fornasini (Bianconi, 1846).
  • Lactoria paschae (Rendahl, 1921).
• Genus Ostracion
  • Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus Linnaeus, 1758.
  • Bluetail trunkfish, Ostracion cyanurus Rüppell, 1828.
  • Ostracion immaculatus Temminck & Schlegel, 1850.
  • Whitespotted boxfish, Ostracion meleagris Shaw, 1796.
  • Shortnose boxfish, Ostracion nasus Bloch, 1785.
  • Horn-nosed boxfish, Ostracion rhinorhynchos Bleeker, 1852.
  • Reticulate boxfish, Ostracion solorensis Bleeker, 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, 1785).
  • Humpback turretfish, Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758).
  • Smallspine turretfish, Tetrosomus reipublicae (Ogilby, 1913).
  • Tetrosomus stellifer (Bloch & Schneider, 1801).

References

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External links

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• AquaLink info about Boxfish
• Picture of a Yellow boxfish
• Mercedes has recently designed a car to look like a boxfish.

Tetraodontiformes

Kofferfische | Poisson-coffre | Ostraciidae | Dėžiažuvinės | Ostraciidae