Boxfish
Posted November 10th, 2012 by MartinDick
Images:
I thought Caribbean boxfish I. D. was relatively simple. Going through some old photos, I came across this photo from May 2012, Snapper Ledge, Key Largo, Florida. To me, it looks like a scrawled cowfish without the distinctive "horns." What is it? How can you tell?
Thank You,
Marty
Not a Cowfish
I think this is a Spotted Trunkfish. You can see the spines in front of the anal fin.
The pattern on the body is tricky, but like many fish it can be changed by the fish in responce to stress, feeding and other factors.
It looks to me to have white around the mouth, a distictive feature of the Spotted Trunkfish.