#boxfishes

[marinememes]

Today is Wet Beast Wednesday!

Today’s wet beast is: Yellow Boxfish

Olive’s wet beast fact: this square motherfucker exudes poison when it feels annoyed/threatened by another fish

Stay tuned for more Wet Beast Wednesdays!

[peskypixel]

Beloved cowfish

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Fish fact #631

Yellow boxfish!

Its rigid, uniquely shaped body causes the fish to be quite unstable, as it can be easily spun around by currents. Fortunately, its flexible fins and ostraciiform locomotion (only the tail fins causes propulsion) means that it can use this ability to its advantage in its reef habitat, as it can correct its swimming position to be straightforward when it needs to but also allows for very fast and nimble turns!

[bethanythebogwitch]

When they say "be there or be square", today's Wet Beast Wednesday subject chose "square". I am referring to boxfish. Also known as cowfish, trunkfish, and cofferfish, these real-life Minecraft fish are bony fish in the family Ostraciidae, sometimes called Ostraciontidae. This makes them close relatives of pufferfish and file fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. While all the Tetraodontiformes are weird-looking fish, the cowfish are easily the strangest, they don't even really look that much like fish.

(image: the yellow boxfish Ostracion cubicum. They literally named it "cube")

The squarish shape of the boxfish comes from their unique skeleton. They have a carapace made of overlapping, hexagonal plates called dermal scutes that are the equivalent of scales in other fish. Each plate is composed of a soft and bendable collagen layer and mineralized surface layer. This carapace is very sturdy, with holes in it to allow for the eyes, mouth, fins, and cloaca to pass through. In game terminology, the cowfishes are stone walls. Because of the composition of the carapace, boxfish are fully rigid and cannot bend their bodies in any direction. This, combined with their not-overly hydrodynamic shapes, makes them slow and weak swimmers. When they filled out their character sheets they went all-in on defense and neglected speed and offense. A boxfish won't be winning any races, but the carapace is extremely hard to bite through or puncture, giving an effective defense. Despite their small sizes (the largest species can get up to 50 cm/20 in long, and most species are much smaller), adult boxfish have almost no natural predators. It's worth noting that while boxfish are slow swimmers, they are very maneuverable. They have the ability to create small vortices around their bodies to help maneuver.

(image: a boxfish skeleton)

(image: a boxfish with its hexagonal carapace visible through its skin)

Not satisfied with having an impenetrable shell, many species of boxfish developed another defense mechanism. When stressed, they can release poison into the water. These poisons are surfactants, substances that break up surface tension, that can damage the cell membranes of other animals. While each species has their own specific chemical and not every species is poisonous, these toxins are collectively called pahutoxins. Poison is a pretty common thing in the Tetraodontiformes. Famously, pufferfish, close relatives of boxfish, are highly poisonous. Most poisonous boxfish species are brightly colored. This is called aposematism and is used as a warning to potential predators that the animal is dangerous. A famous example of aposematism is the brightly-colored poison dart frogs. Young boxfish are typically more colorful than older ones.

(image: a longhorn cowfish Lactoria cornuta)

Boxfish are voracious omnivores that will eat just about anything that can fit in their tiny mouths. The majority of boxfish species live in coral reefs and their diet consists largely of algae that they scrape off of coral. Additional foods include sponges, tube worms, mollusks, and small fish and invertebrates. Some species can spit out water to blow aside sand and search for buried food.

(image: Ostracion meleagris, the spotted boxfish)

Boxfish are typically solitary, but occasionally come together in small groups. These groups typically consist of one male and a few females. Scientists speculate these groups are formed for reproduction. They are known to reproduce by swimming to the surface of the water, releasing their gametes, and quickly swimming away.

(Aracana ornata, the ornate boxfish)

Because of their unique appearances, boxfish are popular in aquariums. They are recommended for experts only because of their ability to release poison. Boxfish are easily stressed and can kill themselves and other tank-mates by releasing toxin. Aquarists usually say they should be kept in solo tanks or with smaller, mild-mannered tank-mates. In addition, they need to be in tanks with minimal water flow as even the current of a decently-sized filter can blow them around uncontrollably. People who keep boxfish have called them shy, but highly inquisitive and even playful. They have been reported spitting water and their handlers, apparently in an attempt to get attention.

(image: Lactoria forasini, the thornback boxfish)

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Meet the Yellow Boxfish (no, they don't stay yellow). Known scientifically as Ostracion argus or tuberculatus it lives in coral and rocky reefs in the Indo-Pacific ocean.

You don’t want to annoy a yellow boxfish. It reacts by puffing itself up and releasing a cloud of ostracitoxin, AKA pahutoxin, a powerful toxin that will kill any fish in the immediate area.

[antiqueanimals]

Spotted boxfish (Ostracion meleagris)

Fishes of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. Originally published in 1964.

Internet Archive

[i-give-you-a-fish]

i want a fish sooo bad!!! please thank you!!

You get a Spotted Trunkfish (juvenile)

Lactophrys triqueter

[hoshidensha-art]

Here's my full piece for @seaunseenzine!! Featuring a bluespotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma) and some yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) 💙

I've loved marine biology and the ocean since I was a kid and I also used to do a lot of wildlife art before I got into drawing more anime-style fanart, so this piece has a lot of special meaning for me~ Plus stingrays are my absolute fave animals :DDD Thank you again for having me, it was such an honour!! 🌊🪸🐠 Go check out the zine here!! It's only $1, there's tons of gorgeous art, and it supports the Australian Marine Conservation Society!

[herpsandbirds]

White-spotted or Blue Boxfish (Ostracion meleagris), male, family Ostraciidae, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

photograph by Florent Charpin

[taxonomytournament]

Taxonomy Tournament: Fish

Tetraodontiformes. This order contains many fishses with unusual body structures, such as boxfishes, which are boxy as the implies, pufferfishes, which are round and able to inflate, and the ocean sunfish, the largest bony fish.

Stomiiformes. This order is made up of deep-sea fishes. It includes dragonfishes, loosejaws, viperfishes, and bristlemouths, the most populated family of vertebrates, with population numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions.

[aticketplz]

「つめたい海のフグ」水槽にいるフグが鮮やかでよかった

AB

CD

とすると

A. ホワイトバードボックスフィッシュ

B. ショーズカウフィッシュ

C. オルネートカウフィッシュ・オス

D. オルネートカウフィッシュ・メス

となるんですけど、BとDのほうがいいカップルっぽくない？と思った(どうでもいい)

@海響館

The pufferfish in the "Cold Sea Pufferfish" tank was vivid and nice.

Let's say the four photos are

AB

CD,

A. White-barred boxfish

B. Striped cowfish

C. Ornate cowfish male

D. Ornate cowfish female

I thought B and D were a couple haha

@Kaikyokan

[linddzz]

Karpata Dive Site - BonAire 2023

[snototter]

A juvenile yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) in Sulawesi, Indonesia

by scubaluna

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #409

Yellow boxfish!

They can release a powerful neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, from their skin when they feel threatened or stressed!

[hes-a-rat-whisperer]

After weeks of recovery, Alistair and Ceban could finally, FINALLY return to their home, and Ceb’s long lost childhood friend coming back with them was all the more wonderful. Of course they were grateful to Felonious for housing them until their fins came in, but there was nothing like home. Besides, the grumpy boxfish wasn’t the biggest fan of the wendigo’s living space. At all.

That evening, as the trio was taken back to the docks by Fel and Guinness, the raven haired man revealed he had goodbye gifts for them.

“Here.” Felonious said, smiling warmly as he handed Alistair a semi large package.

“It’s tofu products, and some other things, that you seemed to enjoy snacking on.”

Alistair sniffed at the package, his earfins pinning back as he listened to Fel´s description.

"I..uhm..thank you" he said, holding the package close and secure in his clawed hands.

Guinness was just about to make some kind of snarky remark as he saw the hostile mercreature show gratitude, but very quickly decided against it.

this was neither the time nor place for any sass.

"Felly spent a good bit o´ time preparin´ those! he works a knife like ye do yer claws!" he said, which actually got a chuckle out of the boxfish.

"well, thank you..this is very nice" Alistair said.

[deathmoth-blog]

The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) 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.

O. cubicum reaches a maximum length of 45 centimetres (18 in). As the name suggests, it is box-shaped. Boxfish are also known for their armored and rigid body which in most cases would inhibit locomotion. This disadvantage is offset by the boxfish's carapace shape which is much more advantageous for its adapted style of swimming, known as ostraciiform locomotion. When juvenile, it is bright yellow in color. As it ages, the brightness fades and very old specimens have blue-grey to black coloration with faded yellow.

While they are mainly known to reside in Indian coasts, earlier records show that this species has earlier reports in the Lakshadweep Islands, Andaman & Nicobar Islands as well as the Chennai coast

The yellow boxfish's diet consists mainly of marine algae, but it may also feed on worms, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish.

When stressed or injured it releases the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) from its skin, which may prove lethal to fish in surrounding waters. The bright yellow color and black spots are a form of warning coloration (aposematism) to any potential predators

Yellow boxfish are solitary animals. Breeding occurs during the spring, in small groups that consist of 1 male and 2–4 females.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Bionic concept car, which was inspired by the shape of the yellow boxfish. It was assumed that due to the extreme agility with which boxfish maneuver, that their shape was aerodynamic and self-stabilizing. However, analysis by scientists suggests that boxfish agility is instead due to the combination of an aerodynamically unstable body and the manner in which the fish use their fins for movement.