Ostracion

Ostracion Temporal range: 56–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Thanetian to Present[1]
Ostracion cubicus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Ostraciidae
Genus:	Ostracion Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Ostracion cubicus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[2]
Cibotion Kaup, 1855 Posthias Billberg, 1833 Rhynchostracion Fraser-Brunner, 1935

Ostracion is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region as far east as the eastern Pacific coasts of the Americas.

Taxonomy

Ostracion was first proposed as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Ostracion cubicus was subsequently designated as the type species of this genus. However, the original designation is unclear, Pieter Bleeker designate O. teragonus as the type in 1865 while David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert designated it as O. cubiceps in 1883.[2] This genus is the type genus of the family Ostraciidae which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the family Ostraciidae in the suborder Ostracioidea within the order Tetraodontiformes.[3]

Etymology

Ostracion means "little box" and is an allusion to the shape of the body of its type species, O. cubicum.[4]

Species

Ostracion contains the following recognised species:[5][6]

• Ostracion cubicum Linnaeus, 1758 (Yellow boxfish)
• Ostracion cyanurus Rüppell, 1828 (Bluetail trunkfish)
• Ostracion immaculatum Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 (Bluespotted boxfish)
• Ostracion meleagris G. Shaw, 1796 (White-spotted boxfish)
• Ostracion nasus Bloch, 1785 (Shortnose boxfish)
• Ostracion rhinorhynchos Bleeker, 1851 (Horn-nosed boxfish)
• Ostracion solorense Bleeker, 1853 (Reticulate boxfish)
• Ostracion trachys J. E. Randall, 1975 (Roughskin trunkfish)
• Ostracion whitleyi Fowler, 1931 (Whitley's boxfish)

Characteristics

Ostracion boxfishes have thick and oblong bodies which are largely encased in a carapace made up of thickened, bony plate-like hexagonal scales which are jointed to one another. The carapace is cuboidal in shape, it is gently rounded on its dorsal surface and flat on its ventral surface. There ara pair of logitudinal ridges on the lwoer flanks but there are no spines on the carapacem which has gaps for the mouth, eyes, gill slits, fins abd caudal peduncle. They do have a protruding snout with a small mouth which has fleshy lips and 15, or less, modereately sized conical teeth in each jaw. The gill splits are short and oblique and sit to the front of the base of the pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are positioned towards the rear. The cuadal peduncle is slender and the caudal fin is a rounded fan.[7] The largest species in the genus is the yellow boxfish (O. cubicum), with a maximum published total length of 45 cm (18 in), while the smallest is the roughskin trunkfish (O. trachys) , with a maximum published total length of 11.5 cm (4.5 in).[6]

Distribution and habitat

Ostracion boxfishes are found in the Indian and PacificOceans from the Red Sea and eastern coast of Africa east[6] as far as the Eastern Pacific between Mexico and Ecuador.[7] One species, the yellow boxfish, has reached the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.[8] These fishes are solitary species of lagoons and reefs , typically in shallow water.[9]

References

1. Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560.
2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Ostraciidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
3. Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 518–526. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN 2015037522. OCLC 951899884. OL 25909650M.
4. Christopher Scharpf (21 August 2024). "Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families MOLIDAE, BALISTIDAE, MONACANTHIDAE, ARACANIDAE and OSTRACIIDAE". Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
5. Matsuura, K (2014). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113. Bibcode:2015IchtR..62...72M. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5.
6. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Ostracion". FishBase. June 2024 version.
7. "Genus: Ostracion, Boxfishes". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
8. Bariche, Michel (2011). "First record of the cube boxfish Ostracion cubicus (Ostraciidae) and additional records of Champsodon vorax (Champsodontidae) from the Mediterranean". Aqua. 17: 181–184.
9. Keiichi Matsuura (2022). "Tetraodontiformes". In Phillip C. Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David E. Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E. Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). pp. 406–485.