''Lactophrys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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

es native to the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. All trunkfish of the genus ''Lactophrys'', secretes a colorless toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so there is no immediate harm to divers. Predators however, as large as

nurse sharks The Ginglymostomatidae are a cosmopolitan family of carpet sharks known as nurse sharks, containing four species in three genera. Common in shallow, tropical and subtropical waters, these sharks are sluggish and docile bottom-dwellers.

, can die as a result of eating a trunkfish.Maurice Burton, Robert Burton
''International Wildlife Encyclopedia''.
Marshall Cavendish, New York, 2002. ; pp. 2758–2759

Species

There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:Matsuura, K. (2014): Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. ''Ichthyological Research, 62 (1): 72-113.'' *'' Lactophrys bicaudalis'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (Spotted trunkfish) *''

Lactophrys trigonus ''Lactophrys trigonus'', commonly called the ''buffalo trunkfish'' or ''trunkfish'', is a boxfish native to the Western Atlantic. Description The trunkfish has small diffuse white spots. Two areas, located on the pectoral region and halfway betw ...

'' (

) (Buffalo trunkfish) *''

Lactophrys triqueter ''Lactophrys triqueter'' also known as the smooth trunkfish, is a species of boxfish found on and near reefs in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and subtropical parts of the western Atlantic Ocean.Matsuura, K. (2014): Taxonomy and systematics of ...

'' (

) (Smooth trunkfish)

References

Ostraciidae Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by William John Swainson {{Tetraodontiformes-stub