Chordates • Earth.com

Tetrosomus gibbosus

(Tetrosomus gibbosus)

Description

Tetrosomus gibbosus, commonly called camel cowfish because of the hump on its dorsal keel. Other common names include helmet cowfish, humpback turretfish and thornbacked boxfish, is a species of boxfish native to the Indo-West Pacific, but also established in the Mediterranean Sea via Lessepsian migration. It is mainly found at depths of 37–110 m (121–361 ft) on slopes or over muddy bottoms, but can sometimes be seen near shallow seagrass beds. It reaches up to 30 cm (12 in) in length, but is more common at around 20 cm (8 in). Like other boxfish, its flesh is poisonous. It feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates and algae. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade, but is difficult to keep.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Actinopterygii
Order:Tetraodontiformes
Family:Ostraciidae
Genus:Tetrosomus
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