Aracana ornata

Ornate cowfish
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Aracanidae
Genus: Aracana
Species: A. ornata
Binomial name
Aracana ornata
J.E. Gray (1838)

Aracana ornata, the ornate cowfish, is a species of boxfish native to the Eastern Indian Ocean. First described by John Edward Gray in 1838,[1] the species has a maximum length of 15cm. They can be differentiated from their close cousins the striped cowfish by the upright look of the spines near their eyes,[2] and their slightly smaller length.[3] Their body is encased in a rigid box-like carapace composed of large sculptured bony plates; bony ridges with large recurved spines; dorsal and anal fins opposite and far back on the body; bony plates on tail base absent or rudimentary.[4]

Ornate cowfish are sexually dimorphic; males have yellow or blue lines and spots, while females are plain with orange-brown stripes.[2] These fish are rarely kept as pets by aquarium hobbyists, as stress can cause them to release ostracitoxin from their skin, easily killing other fish in a tank.

References

  1. "Aracana ornata", FishBase
  2. 1 2 Ornate Cowfish, Aracana ornata (Gray, 1838), Australian Museum
  3. "Aracana ornata", Encyclopedia of Life
  4. Dianne J. Bray (2011), Ornate Cowfish, Aracana ornata

External links

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