No photo available
Longhorn cowfish
Lactoria cornuta
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Longhorn cowfish
- Scientific
- Lactoria cornuta
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Ostraciidae (boxfishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 46 cm (total length); commonly 40 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 100 m (usually 1 to 50 m); also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023
Description
A boxfish encased in a bony shell with two long horns projecting forward from above the eyes and a very long tail, green, olive or orange with blue spots. It reaches about 46 cm and hovers over sand and weed in sheltered bays.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Lactoria-cornuta.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_cofre_cornudo_(Lactoria_cornuta),_Mauricio,_2025-09-23,
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.