Yellow boxfish

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Yellow boxfish
Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus
Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Ostraciidae
Genus: Ostracion
Species: O. cubicus
Binomial name
Ostracion cubicus
Linnaeus, 1758
Face detail, Taba, Red Sea.
Face detail, Taba, Red Sea.

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. 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.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Bionic concept car, inspired by the Yellow boxfish. [1]


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