Fish caught off the Anglins Pier, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida, March 2015. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The Scrawled Cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis, is a member of the Boxfish or Ostry, and is known in Mexico as torito cornudo. Globally, there are four species in the genus Acanthostracion, of which two are found in Mexican waters, both in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Scrawled Cowfish is a very colorful subtropical fish that has a deep body that is covered with hexagonally-shaped plates fused together to form a shell or true carapace. They have an overall gray-brown to yellow-green coloration with numerous dark to bright blue irregular bars and spots. They also have dark spots and blotches on their body and 3 or 4 parallel blue stripes on each cheek. Their head has a small terminal mouth with fleshy lips and less than 15 conical teeth on each jaw. They have a pair of spines on their head that project in front of the eyes and a pair on the rear corner of their carapace. Their anal has 10 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; and, their dorsal fin has 10 rays. They do not have a dorsal fin spines or pelvic fins. They have 13 to 17 gill rakers.
The Scrawled Cowfish is found in shallow water within grass beds and coral reef areas at depths up to 79 m (260 feet). They reach a maximum of 55 cm (22 inches) in length, but are normally in the 20 cm (7.9 inches) to 38 cm (15 inches) range. They consume sessile invertebrates such as anemones, crabs, crustaceans, gorgonians, sponges, tunicates, and marine vegetation. In turn they are fairly immune to predation by larger fish due to their protective external shell. They can also remain motionless for long periods of time relying on camouflage for defense. They are slow swimmers and only able to generate propulsion via their anal, dorsal, and pectoral fins. They reproduce via pelagic eggs and pelagic larvae.
The Scrawled Cowfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
The Scrawled Cowfish is most likely confused with the Honeycomb Cowfish, Acanthostracion polygonius https://mexican-fish.com/scrawled-cowfish/