Yellow boxfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the yellow boxfish lives – recorded in 28 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ostracion cubicus
Group	Bony fish
Found in	28 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Oceania
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Tetraodontiformes
Family	Ostraciidae

Where does the yellow boxfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the yellow boxfish in 28 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: South China Sea.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the yellow boxfish?

The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Tetraodontiformes and the family Ostraciidae, genus Ostracion. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the yellow boxfish

The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This species is found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, although since 2011 it has also been occasionally recorded in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea which it likely entered via the Suez Canal. The species is present in the aquarium trade. They are known for their cuboid body shape, bright yellow and black spotted coloration, and the secretion of a toxic mucus when threatened.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Yellow boxfish (revision 1380286680), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q587799 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).