Animal Profiles
Fish

Boxfish

Ostraciidae

Living

Living individuals or members of this group exist today. This does not mean they are safe from extinction.

Boxfishes have unusually rigid bodies. The yellow boxfish described here is a reef fish whose bright yellow, black-spotted juvenile colours become much less vivid as it grows.

Yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus), the representative described here.

Yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus), the representative described here.

portioid · CC BY-SA

At a glance

Location
The representative is the yellow boxfish, called Ostracion cubicum in FishBase and often written Ostracion cubicus. It occurs across much of the Indo-Pacific in lagoons and sheltered outer reefs.
Habitat
Coral reef, Coast
Diet
Omnivore
Food
Yellow boxfish eat algae together with small invertebrates and other animal food.

Classification

Common name
Boxfish
Browse group
Fish
Scientific name or taxon
Ostraciidae
Taxon rank
family
Order
Tetraodontiformes
Family
Ostraciidae
Source classification
Actinopterygii

Taxonomy checked against GBIF. For breeds and hybrids, this describes the listed parent taxon.

Three things to know

  • Juveniles are yellow with black spots.
  • Adults usually occur alone.
  • It eats algae and small animals.

Habitat and range

The representative is the yellow boxfish, called Ostracion cubicum in FishBase and often written Ostracion cubicus. It occurs across much of the Indo-Pacific in lagoons and sheltered outer reefs.

Appearance and adaptations

Young fish are bright yellow with black spots. Larger fish lose that intense colour and can develop bluish tones. Plates form the distinctive angular body, unlike the flexible outlines of most reef fishes.

Diet and behaviour

Yellow boxfish eat algae together with small invertebrates and other animal food. Adults are commonly solitary. Small juveniles use narrow reef crevices and branching corals for shelter.

Sources

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