Yellow boxfish

Yellow boxfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Ostraciidae
Genus: Ostracion
Species:
O. cubicum
Binomial name
Ostracion cubicum
Synonyms

The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) 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.[2] They are known for their cuboid body shape, bright yellow and black spotted coloration, and the secretion of a toxic mucus when threatened.[3][4]

  1. ^ Stiefel, K.M. & Williams, J.T. (2024). "Ostracion cubicum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T193777A2275465. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  2. ^ Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Ostracion cubicus). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Ostracion_cubicus.pdf
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).