Cowfish facts: also boxfish facts | Animal Fact Files

Cowfish are also known as boxfish and trunkfish. They get these common names from their boxy shape as well as the cow-like horns present in some species! Cowfish are tropical fish occurring in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. They are generally shallow water fish, not typically found below a depth of 328 feet (100m). Cowfish have hexagonal patterns on their skin which come from the shells that almost completely encase their bodies! If disturbed, cowfish can release a toxic to ward off predators and potentially gravely affect other nearby smaller animals (like coral polyps). Cowfish are like underwater helicopters because they can fully rotate in place, but they sacrifice speed for this maneuverability.

Scientific Name: Family - Ostraciidae
Range: lagoons, bays, reefs, and seaweed beds of India, Atlantic, Pacific oceans
Size: up to 20in (50cm) usually not even half this
Diet: sponges, tunicates, soft corals, crustaceans, worms as well as algae
Lifespan: less than a decade

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Image and Video Credits:
Nic B -    • Thorny Back Cowfish (Lactoria fornasini)  
ahjota1 -    • Longhorn cowfish, National Aquarium, ...  
Jim Zandlo -    • Bonaire 2016 Cowfish spiral  ;    • Bonaire 2018 Cowfish at it again  
Paul Nebbs -    • Horned Cowfish at Racha Yai  
Richard Fuchs -    • Trunkfish  ;    • Trunkfish sucking on a coral  ;    • Cozumel trunkfish spa (raw)  


Daniel Clanon - https://www.flickr.com/photos/divrdan...
TANAKA Juuyoh - https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanaka_... https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanaka_... https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanaka_... https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanaka_... https://www.flickr.com/photos/1391040...
su neko - https://www.flickr.com/photos/suneko/...
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Rickard Zerpe - https://www.flickr.com/photos/krokodi... https://www.flickr.com/photos/krokodi...
Nazir Amin - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dodol/2...
Dominic Scaglioni - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dominic...
Derek Keats - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dkeats/...
Jin Kemoole - https://www.flickr.com/photos/1464011...
Lakshmi Sawitri - https://www.flickr.com/photos/elsaw/6...
Kathy - https://www.flickr.com/photos/4460307...


Horcrux92 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Usuijani - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
OpenCage - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
H. Zell - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...


the treefort - https://vimeo.com/55059626
a ritger - https://vimeo.com/164437893
Greg Causey - https://vimeo.com/210848236
richwise - https://freesound.org/people/richwise...


Research Credits:
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