Yellow boxfish
Ostracion cubicus
— Where the name comes from
Ostracion comes from the Greek óstrakon, the shell or potsherd — the same word behind ostracism, which was voted by writing a name on a piece of terracotta. Cubicus gives the shape: the body is enclosed in armour of fused hexagonal bony plates, square in section, from which only the fins, eyes and mouth protrude.
— Facts
- Group
- Fish · Actinopterygii · Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Pufferfishes
- Habitat
- Coral reefs and lagoons down to 40 metres
- Range
- The tropical Indo-Pacific and the Red Sea
- Size
- 15–30 cm, up to 45 cm; 300–800 g
- Diet
- Algae, sponges, molluscs, worms
- Lifespan
- 8 years
— Characteristics
- 01
The body is rigid: it swims with its fins alone, like a helicopter.
- 02
The young are yellow with black spots, the adults brownish blue.
- 03
Stressed, it releases a toxin that can kill an entire aquarium.
— What sets it apart
In 2005 Mercedes-Benz presented a concept car inspired by its shape, claiming that the boxy body was aerodynamically optimal. Later studies showed the opposite: the fish’s bony carapace does not reduce drag but generates vortices that stabilise it, which is useful to a rigid animal that must hold station in front of coral and terrible for a car on a motorway. It is one of the most cited cases of biomimicry applied to a misunderstanding.
