Species: Acanthostracion quadricornis, Scrawled cowfish
head & body irregular blue lines
blue stripe - snout to lower tail base
Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scrawled cowfish
Body oblong, thick, enclosed in a bony box formed by thickened, joined, enlarged scale plates that are usually hexagonal in shape; carapace has openings for mouth, eyes, gill slits and fins and tail, completely surrounds bases of dorsal and anal fins, has large spines projecting forward above eyes, and at lower rear corner, rear plates above and below tail base expanded as short spines; mouth small, at front, lips fleshy; teeth moderate, conical, usually <15 per jaw; gill openings short, oblique slits in front of pectoral bases; no spiny dorsal, soft dorsal and anal fins at rear of carapace; pectoral rays 11, rarely 12; no pelvic fins; tail base slender, flexible, tail fin a fan with a rounded end; dorsal, anal and pectoral fin rays branched; lateral line inconspicuous.
Grey brown to yellowish greens; a blue stripe from snout to origin of anal fin; numerous short to long irregular stripes and spots of dark blackish blue to bright blue; 3-4 parallel blue stripes on cheek; some fish without blue markings; juvenile pale grey-brown, with blue, dark-ringed spots.
Reaches 55 cm.
Lives mainly in seagrass beds, but also in sponge habitats.
Depth range: 2-90 m.
Both sides of the tropical Atlantic; Massachusetts to Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Submerged vegetation
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Sponges
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Omnivore
- Data
- Corallivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Benthic microalgae
- Data
- Benthic macroalgae/seagrasses
- Mobile benthic worms
- Soft corals/hydroids
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Island (s)
- Extends N + S of GC
- All species..
- GC non-endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- Extends North of GC
- Continent
- Extends South of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 55
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 90
