Species: Ostracion meleagris meleagris, Spotted boxfish, White spotted boxfish
Ostracion meleagris meleagris Shaw in Shaw & Nodder, 1796
Spotted boxfish, White spotted boxfish
Body oblong, thick, enclosed in a bony box formed by thickened, joined, enlarged, hexagonal scale plates; box rectangular, with back gently rounded, a pair of rounded longitudinal ridges on lower flanks, bottom flat; box without spines, with openings for mouth, eyes, gill slits and fins and tail base; snout not projecting; mouth small, opens at front, lips fleshy; teeth moderate, conical, usually < 15 per jaw; gill openings are short, oblique slits in front of pectoral bases; no spiny dorsal, soft dorsal and anal fins at rear of carapace; dorsal rays 9; anal rays 9; pectoral rays 11; no pelvic fins; tail base slender, flexible; tail fin 8 branched rays, a fan with a rounded end; lateral line inconspicuous.
Juveniles and females dark brown with small brown white spots; males dark brown with small white to yellow spots dorsally on carapace, blue elsewhere with dark-edged orange-yellow spots on side, these sometimes coalescing to form an irregular band along upper flank ridge.
Size: grows to 25 cm.
Inhabits coral and rocky reefs.
Depth: 3-30 m.
Wide ranging in the tropical Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the Americas; the tip of Baja, the SE Gulf of California to Ecuador and all the oceanic islands.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Corals
- Rocks
- Reef only
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Sessile worms
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Benthic microalgae
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- TEP non-endemic
- All Pacific (West + Central + East)
- Indo-Pacific only (Indian + Pacific Oceans)
- "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific)
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- All species
- Island (s)
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- IUCN Red List
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- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 25
- Depth Range Min
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- 3
- Depth Range Max
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- 30
