Ostracion cyanurus

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Ostracion cyanurus
Pez cofre azul (Ostracion cyanurus), islas Ad Dimaniyat, Oman, 2024-08-13, DD 88.jpg
male
Pez cofre azul (Ostracion cyanurus), islas Ad Dimaniyat, Oman, 2024-08-14, DD 07.jpg
Female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Ostraciidae
Genus: Ostracion
Species:
O. cyanurus
Binomial name
Ostracion cyanurus
Rüppell, 1828
Front view of female boxfish, in the Ad Dimaniyat Islands, Oman Pez cofre azul (Ostracion cyanurus), islas Ad Dimaniyat, Oman, 2024-08-13, DD 98.jpg
Front view of female boxfish, in the Ad Dimaniyat Islands, Oman

Ostracion cyanurus, the bluetail trunkfish, Arabian trunkfish or Red Sea boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the Western Indian Ocean.

Contents

Taxonomy

Ostracion cyanurus was first formally described in 1828 by the German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell with its type locality given as the Red Sea off Al Muwaylih in Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia. [2] The bluetail trunkfish is classified in the genus Ostracion which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the family Ostraciidae in the suborder Ostracioidea within the order Tetraodontiformes. [3]

Etymology

Ostracion cyanurus is classified in the genus Ostracion, this name means "little box" and is an allusion to the shape of the body of its type species, O. cubicum. The specific name, cyanurus means "blue tail" and is a reference to the blue caudal fin of this fish. [4] Ostracion is neuter so it has been argued that the specific name should be spelt as cyanurum. [1]

Description

Ostracion cyanurus has a maximum published total length of 15 cm (5.9 in). [5] There are 9 soft rays on both the dorsal and anal fin, and 10 in the caudal fin, with 8 branched. Females have a slightly concave dorsal profile of the head while that of males is convex. The lips and chin are fleshy and stick out. The adult males are normally dark blue on the flanks and u lower body with spots and an unspotted greenish-yellow upper body. [6] Females sre yellow with blue spots and red cheeks. [7]

Distribution and habitat

Ostracion cyanurus is found in the Western Indian Ocean where it occurs in the Red Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula into the Persian Gulf as far east as eastern Iran. [1] This species is found in areas where there is a moderate growth of coral [6] at depths between 5 and 50 m (16 and 164 ft). [1]

Biology

Ostracion cyanurus is a solitary species which remains in the vicinity of shelter. [5] The apparent lack of smaller males may mean that this species is protogynous. [6] If the bluetail trunkfish senses danger is releases a toxin called pahutoxin, or ostracotoxin, into the water as a defence. [7]

Human uses

Ostracion cyanurus is available in the aquarium trade. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ostracion</i> Genus of fishes

Ostracion is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region as far east as the eastern Pacific coasts of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow boxfish</span> Species of fish

The yellow boxfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. Recorded occasionally since 2011 in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea which it likely entered via the Suez Canal, it is a species appreciated in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrawled cowfish</span> Species of fish

The scrawled cowfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted trunkfish</span> Species of fish

The spotted trunkfish is a member of the family Ostraciidae. It lives in reefs throughout the Caribbean, as well as the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It gets its name from the black spots on its whitish or yellow-golden body. In Caribbean countries, it is colloquially known as the boxfish, cow-fish or shellfish.

<i>Ostracion solorense</i> Species of fish

Ostracion solorense, the reticulate boxfish, scribbled boxfish, Solor boxfish or striped boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the far eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted boxfish</span> Species of fish

The spotted boxfish, also known as the black boxfish, ornate boxfish or white-spotted boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It occurs on reefs at depths of from 1 to 30 metres. This species grows to a length of 25 centimetres. Males and females differ in colour: males are blackish on the back with white spots, and have bluish sides with bright yellowish bands and spots. Females and juveniles are dark brown to blackish with white spots. As with other species of boxfish, the spotted boxfish's bony carapace gives it a distinctly angular appearance; it has been described as resembling an ottoman.

<i>Kentrocapros</i> Genus of fishes

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<i>Acanthostracion</i> Genus of fishes

Acanthostracion is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. These fishes are found in the Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Lactophrys</i> Genus of fishes

Lactophrys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. The boxfishes in this genus are found in the western Atlantic Ocean and are known as trunkfishes.

<i>Tetrosomus</i> Genus of fishes

Tetrosomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. The fishes in this genus are known as turretfishes and they are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

<i>Ostracion rhinorhynchos</i> Species of fish

Ostracion rhinorhynchos, the horn-nosed boxfish or torpedo boxfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This fish occurs in the Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Aracana ornata</i> Species of fish

Aracana ornata, the ornate cowfish or ornate boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Aracanidae, the deepwater boxfishes or temperate boxfishes. This species is endemic to the seas off southern Australia.

<i>Aracana aurita</i> Species of fish

Aracana aurita, the Shaw's cowfish, painted boxfish, southern cowfish or striped cowfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Aracanidae, the deepwater boxfishes or temperate boxfishes. This species is endemic to the seas off southern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shortnose boxfish</span> Species of fish

The Shortnose boxfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Tetrosomus concatenatus</i> Species of fish

The triangular boxfish is a species of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. The fishes in this genus are known as turretfishes and they are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

<i>Anoplocapros lenticularis</i> Species of fish

Anoplocapros lenticularis, the white-barred boxfish, flame boxfish, high-backed boxfish, humpback boxfish, humpty dumpty or smooth boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Aracanidae, the deepwater boxfishes or temperate boxfishes. This fish is endemic to the seas of southern and western Australia.

<i>Lactoria diaphana</i> Species of fish

Lactoria diaphana, the roundbelly cowfish, diaphonous cowfish, many-spined cowfish, spiny cowfish or transparent cowfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This fish is found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific.

<i>Ostracion immaculatum</i> Species of fish

Ostracion immaculatum, the bluespotted boxfish or immaculate boxfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in the Western Pacific Ocean off Eastern Asia.

<i>Ostracion trachys</i> Species of fish

Ostracion trachys, the rough boxfish or roughskin trunkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. It is found in the Western Indian Ocean around the Mascarenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitley's boxfish</span> Species of fish

Whitley's boxfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This fish is found in the Eastern Central Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Williams, J.T. (2024). "Ostracion cyanurum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024: e.T193627A2249474. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ostracion". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  3. ↑ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 518–526. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN   2015037522. OCLC   951899884. OL   25909650M.
  4. ↑ Christopher Scharpf (21 August 2024). "Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families MOLIDAE, BALISTIDAE, MONACANTHIDAE, ARACANIDAE and OSTRACIIDAE". Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  5. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ostracion cyanurus". FishBase . June 2024 version.
  6. 1 2 3 Keiichi Matsuura (2022). "Tetraodontiformes". In Phillip C. Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David E. Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E. Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). pp. 406–485.
  7. 1 2 3 "Red Sea boxfish". Rock'n'Critters. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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