Ostraciidae or Ostraciontidae 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 about 23 extant species in 6 extant genera.
The longhorn cowfish, also called the horned boxfish, is a species of boxfish from the family Ostraciidae, recognizable by its long horns that protrude from the front of its head, rather like those of a cow or bull. They are a resident of the Indo-Pacific region and can grow up to 50 cm (20 in) long.
Thalassoma is a genus of wrasses native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Many species occasionally make their way into the aquarium trade.
The Mercedes-Benz Bionic is a concept car created by DaimlerChrysler AG under the Mercedes Group. It was first introduced in 2005 at the DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington, D. C. The Bionic is modeled after a type of fish, the yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus, and also has 80% lower nitrogen oxide emissions with its selective catalytic reduction technology.
The yellow boxfish is a species of boxfish 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.
Plectorhinchus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh, brackish, and salt waters.
Cephalopholis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae in the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Many of the species have the word "hind" as part of their common name in English.
Gobius is a genus of fish in the family Gobiidae native to fresh, brackish and marine waters of and around Europe, Africa and Asia. It contains the typical gobies, being the type genus of the formerly recognised subfamily Gobiinae and family and the namesake genus of its order Gobiiformes.
Marcusenius is a genus of the elephantfish group native to Africa. Its members are highly diverse in size, with the smallest species reaching less than 15 cm (6 in) and the largest more than 1 m (3.3 ft).
Mormyrus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Mormyridae. They are weakly electric, enabling them to navigate, to find their prey, and to communicate with other electric fish.
Trachinus is a genus of weevers, order Perciformes that consists of seven extant species. Six of the genus representatives inhabit the waters of Eastern Atlantic Ocean, but only one, Trachinus cornutus, inhabits the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean. Three of the Atlantic species occur near the coasts of Europe. An eighth extinct species, T. minutus, is known from Oligocene-aged strata from the Carpathian Mountains, while a ninth species, also extinct, T. dracunculus, is known from middle-Miocene-aged strata from Piemonte, Italy.
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.
Tetrosomus gibbosus, commonly called camel cowfish because of the hump on its dorsal keel, is one of 22 species in the boxfish family, Ostraciidae. It is a ray finned fish. Other common names include helmet cowfish, humpback turretfish and thornbacked boxfish. It is most closely related to T. reipublicae, the smallspine turretfish. T. gibbosus is a species of boxfish found in the wide Indo-West Pacific. It has been recorded since 1988 on rare occasions in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, likely following entry via the Suez Canal. It is the first species from the family Ostraciidae to be found in the Mediterranean Sea.
Ostracion solorensis is a species of boxfish native to the western Pacific Ocean. Its common name is reticulate boxfish. It grows to 12 centimeters in length. It is sometimes kept as an aquarium fish.
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.
Acanthostracion is a genus of boxfishes native to the Atlantic Ocean.
Tetrosomus is a genus of boxfishes native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Ostracion rhinorhynchos is a species of boxfish commonly known as the horn-nosed boxfish or trunkfish. It was first described by Pieter Bleeker in 1851. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific, where it inhabits coral reefs and eats benthic invertebrates.
Iniistius is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Ostracion nasus also known as the Shortnose boxfish is a species of boxfish found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This species grows to a length of 30 centimetres (12 in) TL.
