Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia
Spotted Boxfish Ostracion meleagris
Instead of a covering of scales, all boxfish are protected by a rigid box of fused bony plates under the skin. This means they cannot bend their body and must swim by beating their pectoral fins. A large tail gives some propulsion and is also used to help steer them like a rudder. Male spotted boxfish are more colorful than the females, which are brown with light spots. These fish secrete a poisonous slime from their skin that protects them from predators.
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- Order Tetradontiformes
- Length Up to 10 in (25 cm)
- Weight Not recorded
- Depth 3–100 ft (1–30 m)
- Distribution Tropical reefs in Indian Ocean and South pacific, possibly extending to Mexico
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