No photo available
Spotted boxfish
Ostracion meleagris
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Spotted boxfish
- Scientific
- Ostracion meleagris
- Dhivehi
- Gonu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Ostraciidae (boxfishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 25 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023
Description
A small boxfish with a shell covered in white spots on a dark background; females and juveniles are dark brown to black with white spots, while males have a blue body with orange-yellow spots and bands on the side. It feeds on tunicates, worms, sponges and algae on reef crests and slopes. Its skin produces a toxin.
In the Maldives
FishBase (Maldives) gives the general name gonu.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Ostracion-meleagris.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6556&GenusName=Ostracion&SpeciesName=
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_cofre_moteado_(Ostracion_meleagris),_Zanzíbar,_Tanzania
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Gonu' (Latin script). FLAG: single source.