Yellow boxfish
Ostracion cubicum
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Yellow boxfish
- Scientific
- Ostracion cubicum
- Dhivehi
- ގޮނުGonu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Ostraciidae (boxfishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 45 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 40 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 280 m (usually 1 to 50 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023
Description
A boxfish encased in a rigid shell of bony plates. Juveniles are bright yellow with black spots and look like swimming dice; adults fade to mustard-brown with a pale dark-edged spot on each plate, and large males turn bluish. It is shy and stays near overhangs, feeding mainly on algae and small invertebrates. When stressed it releases a skin toxin that can kill other fish in a confined space.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name gonu (MRS 1997), the general name for boxfish. MRS notes it is common on reef edges and slopes.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Ostracion-cubicum.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6555&GenusName=Ostracion&SpeciesName=
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ގޮނު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Ostracion_cubicum_400115646.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Gonu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Gon'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ގޮނު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Gonu' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.