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Yellow box fish

Ostracion cubicus

Photo by The MnMs
Published on Project Noah
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8.58333, 97.6167

Field Notes

Description:

In this photo is the adult.
The Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus, is a boxfish of the genus Ostracion, and can be found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean. It reaches a maximum length of 45 cm.

As the name suggests, it is box shaped. When juvenile, it is very bright yellow in color. See my spotting:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/6282189

As it ages, the brightness fades and very old specimens will have blue-grey coloration with the faded yellow. It feeds mainly on algae, but will also feed on sponges, crustaceans and mollusks.

Habitat:

Coral reefs.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)

Indeed. Some of the fishes have such a different color and pattern when juveniles and when adults. Beautiful both in this case.
Wow, that's a stark contrast to the juvenile!
la verdad que yo alucino con los colores y diseños debajo del agua..es otro mundo!
Alucinante! Me encanta el dibujo, como si se estuviera agrietando en amarillo :)

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