Acanthostracion quadricornis
Scrawled Cowfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Ostraciidae (Boxfishes)
Acanthostracion
Acanthostracion quadricornis (Scrawled Cowfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Spine anterior to eye and a spine on each side of anal fin; bony armor complete behind dorsal fin base; mouth low on head; jaw teeth incisor-like with sharp-pointed cusps in a single row; anterior naris at end of a moderately short tube; posterior naris at end of a short tube; eye projects slightly above dorsal margin of head; preorbital spine well developed; gill opening slightly longer than pectoral fin base; gill rakers on first arch number 13 to 17; head length 24%–27% SL; snout length 20%–24% SL; eye diameter 8%–9% SL; pectoral fin length 18%–20% SL; maximum body depth 43%–47% SL; pectoral fin usually has 12 rays; dorsal, anal, and caudal fins each have 10 rays; carapace consists mostly of hexagonal bony plates densely covered with small tubercles; ventral ridge of carapace bears spine extending to anus
Grayish brown to yellow, with blue spots, bars, and reticulations on head and body
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Massachusetts and Bermuda to southeastern Brazil, including the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Habitat Associations
Shallow water; associated with sea-grass beds
Sea-grass beds
Biology
Sponges, colonial sea anemones, hermit crabs and other crustaceans, and tunicates
Maximum known size is 480 mm TL
Found in shallow water down to about 80 m, mainly in seagrass beds (Ref. 3696). Feeds on sessile invertebrates such as tunicates, gorgonians and anemones, as well as on slow-moving crustaceans, sponges (Ref. 3696), hermit crabs and marine plants (Ref. 13442). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Considered an excellent food fish; marketed fresh (Ref. 3696).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: High (Fec = 112,536).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as Lactophrys tricornis)
Tyler 1965
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Matsuura 1983v
Matsuura 2002d
Robins and Ray 1986
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999 (all above except Hildebrand 1941 as L. quadricornis)
Randall, J.E. (1968) Caribbean reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., The British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. 318 p.
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Smith, M.M. (1986) Ostraciidae. p. 890-893. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Bohnsack, J.A. and D.E. Harper (1988) Length-weight relationships of selected marine reef fishes from the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. NOAA Tech. Mem. NMFS-SEFC-215:31 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Yáñes-Arancibia, A., A.L. Lara-Domínguez and J.W. Day Jr. (1993) Interactions between mangrove and seagrass habitats mediated by estuarine nekton assemblages: coupling of primary and secondary production. Hydrobiologia 264:1-12.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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