The thornback cowfish (''Lactoria fornasini''),
[ is a poisonous species of ]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 ...
found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the Bass Islands (French Polynesia)
The Bass Islands (french: Îles Bass or ) consist primarily of Rapa Iti () and Marotiri (). They are usually considered to be the southernmost of the Austral Islands, although this classification is more one of geographic and political expediency ...
. It can grow to a maximum length of .invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s that it picks up off the sea bed.
The specific epithet ''fornasini'' is in honour of Italian amateur naturalist Carlo Antonio Fornasini
Carlo Antonio Fornasini (1802/18051865) was an Italian ivory trader and amateur field naturalist who worked in Mozambique. He collected numerous specimens of animals, insects and plants, and presented them to the Academy of Sciences of the Inst ...
, who worked in Mozambique.
Description
Like other members of the family Ostraciidae, the thornback cowfish has hexagonal, plate-like scales which are fused together to form a solid, box-like carapace, from which the eyes, mouth, fins and tail protrude.[ The mouth is small and has protruding lips, the upper profile of the snout is straight, the back is somewhat convex, the flanks are concave and the belly rounded, causing the fish to resemble a purse.][Cara Giaimo, "How the World's Squarest Fish Gets Around", in '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', 15 Apr. 2020. There are small pre-ocular spines on either side of the head, a large spine projects from the dorsal ridge and a further moderate-sized spine projects from each of the pelvic ridges near the anal fin. Neither the dorsal fin nor the anal fin has any spines but both have nine soft rays, while the caudal fin is fan-shaped and has ten rays. A typical length for this fish is ; the colour is variable, and changes to match the fish's surroundings; generally pale tan with spots or wiggly markings in yellow, mauve or blue. In some regions, this fish is toxic.
Distribution and habitat
The thornback cowfish is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region between 32°N and 32°S. Its range extends from the east coast of Africa between Tanzania and South Africa and the island of Madagascar, to Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Hawaii and Rapa Island. It occurs in areas of sand, rubble, corals and algae both in lagoons and on the seaward side of reefs. It can be found as deep as but a more normal depth range is between about .[
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Ecology
This fish is usually solitary but the males are territorial in the breeding season.[ The diet consists of small invertebrates, which are exposed by jets of water from the mouth blowing away sand, and picked up by suction from the sea bed. It is an uncommon species.][
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References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1066588
Ostraciidae
Taxa named by Giovanni Giuseppe Bianconi
Fish described in 1846