Aracana aurita

Aracana aurita, striped cowfish, Shaw's cowfish, striped boxfish, painted boxfish , southern cowfish , or Shaw's boxfish is a species of boxfish native to the Eastern Indian Ocean. The species was first described by George Shaw in 1798.[1] It is carnivorous and exposes prey in the benthic zone by blowing a jet of water onto sediment.[2]

Striped cowfish
Illustration from 1904's Kunstformen der Natur
A specimen at the California Academy of Sciences
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Tetraodontiformes
Family:
Aracanidae
Genus:
Aracana
Species:
A. aurita
Binomial name
Aracana aurita
(G. Shaw, 1798)

Morphology

The striped cowfish is larger than its close cousin the ornate cowfish, with a maximum length of 20 cm.[3] The species is sexually dimorphic. Females and juveniles are pale orange to brown with irregular brown and white lines, while males bright orange with blue lines and spots.[2]

The fish's body is encased in a rigid box-like carapace made of large bony plates.[2] It has three curved spines on top, one on the mid side and three along the bottom.

Habitat

The striped cowfish lives in temperate waters of the eastern Indian Ocean, around southern Australia, and by some other islands of Oceania. It primarily lives among sea grass beds and rocky reef at a depth of 10-200 meters.[4][5]

References
  1. "Aracana aurita", FishBase
  2. Bray, Dianne. "Shaw's Cowfish, Aracana aurita". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  3. "Aracana aurita", Encyclopedia of Life
  4. https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/aracana-aurita/?lang=en
  5. https://reeflifesurvey.com/species/aracana-aurita/


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