Ostracion meleagris
Spotted Boxfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Ostraciidae (Boxfishes)
Ostracion
Ostracion meleagris (Spotted Boxfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Juveniles and females brown or green with white spots; large males with orange bands and spots on side of body (Ref. 3141). Caudal fin rays 10 (Ref. 3141). Sexually dimorphic (Ref. 37816).
Description: Characterized further by having quadrangular carapace in cross section, absence of conspicuous bulge; more or less straight dorsal profile of snout, lacking bony protuberance above upper lip; rounded caudal fin (Ref. 90102).
Distribution
Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific: East Africa to the Mexico, north to southern Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, south to New Caledonia and the Tuamoto Islands. The subspecies Ostracion meleagris camurum is found in the Hawaiian Islands and Ostracion meleagris clippertonense in the Eastern Pacific. Species replaced by Ostracion cyanurus in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 0-30 m. Found in: coral reefs.
Biology
Inhabits clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to at least 30 meters (Ref. 37816, 48637). Juveniles among rocky boulders, often with long spined urchins, and adults on reef crests and slopes. Males swim about more openly than females that are often in close vicinity to the males (Ref. 48637). Solitary. Feeds on didemnid tunicates, polychaetes, sponges, mollusks, copepods, and algae (Ref. 37816). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Max length: 25.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2023-08-14. Resilience: High (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Myers, R.F. (1991) Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
Smith, M.M. (1986) Ostraciidae. p. 890-893. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Randall, J.E. (1985) Guide to Hawaiian reef fishes. Harrowood Books, Newtown Square, PA 19073, USA. 74 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Hobson, E.S. (1974) Feeding relationships of teleostean fishes on coral reefs in Kona, Hawaii. Fish. Bull. 72(4):915-1031.
Myers, R.F. (1999) Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
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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