Spotted boxfish (Ostracion meleagris)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Tetraodontiformes · Family: Ostraciidae · Genus: Ostracion.

Accepted name: Ostracion meleagris · Authority: Shaw, 1796 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 219905.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Ostracion camurum Jenkins, 1901; Ostracion clippertonense Snodgrass & Heller, 1905; Ostracion lentiginosus Bloch & Schneider, 1801; Ostracion meleagris meleagris Shaw, 1796; Ostracion punctatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801; Ostracion sebae Bleeker, 1851; Ostracium sebae Bleeker, 1851.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219905 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Ostracion meleagris. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 25 cm · Depth range: 0–30 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 15 of 100 · Fishery importance: subsistence fisheries · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Inhabits clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to at least 30 meters (Ref. 37816, 48637). Juveniles among rocky boulders, often with long spined urchins, and adults on reef crests and slopes. Males swim about more openly than females that are often in close vicinity to the males (Ref. 48637). Solitary. Feeds on didemnid tunicates, polychaetes, sponges, mollusks, copepods, and algae (Ref. 37816). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 6556) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Ostracion-meleagris.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

6,001 georeferenced occurrence records for Ostracion meleagris are published through GBIF from 56 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 293 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 47 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (2,032); Indonesia (523); Australia (421); Mexico (412); French Polynesia (403).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 8262148) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=8262148&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219905 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Ostracion meleagris Shaw, 1796 as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 193596) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/193596/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 8262148) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/8262148/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The spotted boxfish was first formally described in 1796 by the English naturalist George Shaw with its type locality given as the Southern Ocean, i.e. the South Pacific. The spotted trunkfish is classified in the genus Ostracion which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the family Ostraciidae in the suborder Ostracioidea within the order Tetraodontiformes.

The spotted boxfish is classified in the genus Ostracion, this name means "little box" and is an allusion to the shape of the body of its type species, O. cubicum. The specific name, meleagris is the specific name of the helmeted guineafowl and is an allusion to the white spots on a dark background like the plumage pattern of a guineafowl.

The Spotted Boxfish has an oblong thick body that are enclosed in a bony box formed by thickened, joined, enlarged, and hexagonal scale plates. Juveniles with male patterns or colors are never seen or has never been spotted before; either the juvenile males are born with the female colors, or all the young juveniles are born as a female and change their sex later in their life.

Their diet consists of sponges, worms, tunicates as well as other small invertebrates.

Their box has openings for the mouth, eyes, gill slits, fins, and tail base. Their backs are slightly rounded. They have a pair of longitudinal ridges on their lower flanks, a flat bottom, and no spines. Their small mouth opens at the front with fleshy lips and has 15 mid-sized teeth on each jaw. Their gill openings are short and form oblique slits in front of their pectoral base. Their anal and dorsal fins are at the rear; their caudal fin is rounded; their dorsal fin has no spines; and, they do not have pelvic fins.

The Spotted Boxfish make noises and sounds during the mating process. For example, when mating, the male or female, sometimes both, make a low pitched humming sound that lasts for about 6 seconds. Another example is after the mating process, when another male comes to "spawn" with the female or to disrupt the mating process, the two males fight each other, sometimes creating an audible thump sound & they even produce a short buzzing sound.

They are protected by a toxic slime that can kill other fish, thus making them unsuitable for use in aquariums.

They can be found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. They can also be found in seaward and protected reefs. That's just where the adults reside most of the time, whilst the juveniles often find shelter between the long spines of the tropical sea urchins anchored to the rocks.

Phillip Lobel, an ichthyologist, found out that they mate during the afternoon and the early evening hours. The Spotted Boxfish species usually travel in a group, consisting of one male and several females. They start the mating process by the male nudging and circling one female. When she responds, they swim side-by-side while rising 6 ft or more from the bottom. The male leads the female to that point. Staying in that side-by-side formation with their tails together & heads slightly apart from one another, they both release their gametes (a mature haploid male or female germ cell which is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction) and swim back to the bottom again together. Unfortunately, when that process is done and they both are with each other at the bottom again, it calls males to the female Boxfish to disrupt the process or calls them to mate with her instead, and that's why fights are not uncommon between male Spotted Boxfishes.

Source: Wikipedia: Spotted boxfish — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_boxfish (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.