Bighead Boxfish, Acanthostracion bucephalus Whitley 1965
Holotype of the Bighead Boxfish, Acanthostracion bucephalus (possibly a junior synonym of Acanthostracion quadricornis), from off Cooktown Queensland - AMS IB.6355. Source: Mark Allen / Australian Museum. License: CC BY Attribution
Summary:
A boxfish (cowfish) usually found in the tropical Atlantic. The only known specimen (dried) found in Australian waters was described by Whitley (1965) as Acanthostracion bucephalus. Matsuura (2014) considers A. bucephalus to be a synonym of A. quadricornis, and suggests that: "The record of A. quadricornis from Australia may suggest that the specimen was transferred by ballast water from a ship or released from an aquarium."
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Acanthostracion bucephalus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Sep 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2471
Bighead Boxfish, Acanthostracion bucephalus Whitley 1965
More Info
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Distribution |
Cooktown district, Queensland; tropical Atlantic, south-eastern coast of Africa and also reported from Sumatra and the Philippines. |
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Remarks |
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Etymology |
Whitley 1965 described Acanthostracion bucephalus based on a dried specimen from Cooktown, Queensland. Matsuura (2014) considers A. bucephalus to be a synonym of A. quadricornis which is common in the western Atlantic, with strays recorded from waters off South Africa (Tyler 1965). Matsuura (2014) states: "The record of A. quadricornis from Australia may suggest that the specimen was transferred by ballast water from a ship or released from an aquarium." |
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Species Citation |
Acanthostracion bucephalus Whitley, 1965, Aust. Zool. 13(2): 119. Type locality: Cooktown District, QLD. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2017 |
Bighead Boxfish, Acanthostracion bucephalus Whitley 1965
References
Matsuura, K. 2014. Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. Ichthyological Research DOI 10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5
Tyler JC (1965) A synopsis of the four species of cowfishes (Acanthostracion, Plectognathi) in the Atlantic Ocean. Proc Acad Nat Sci Philad 117: 8261–8287.
Whitley, G.P. 1965. Illustrations and records of fishes. The Australian Zoologist 13(2): 103-120 figs 1-13
