Scrawled cowfish
(Acanthostracion quadricornis)

The scrawled cowfish (Acanthostracion quadricornis) is a species of boxfish native to the western tropical and equatorial Atlantic, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

They range in size from 8–15 inches (20–38 cm), with a maximum length of 18 inches (46 cm), and can be found at depths between 6 and 80 feet (1.8 and 24.4 m).

It is common to occasional in Florida and Bahamas; occasional to uncommon in the Caribbean. It also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, north to Massachusetts, Bermuda and south to Brazil in tropical and warm temperate waters.

The scrawled cowfish spawns during the months of January and February, and July through September. They release the eggs in pelagic waters and eventually settle as juveniles out of the water column.

It has distinctive features such as a scrawled pattern of bluish markings covering its body; a blue line runs from snout to anal fin and it has a pair of sharp spines above each eye, giving the name cowfish because they resemble the horns of a cow. This latter point distinguishes cowfish from trunkfish. Overall it is colored blue-green to yellow cast. However, it may darken, pale and change color.

Significantly it has two sharp spines in front of anal fin. Pelvic fins and spiny dorsal fin are not found on the cowfish. Almost always there will be dark, blotchy spots along the body, and three to four horizontal lines on the cheek. They have usually less than fifteen teeth in each jaw. As with other species of boxfish, the scrawled cowfish’s bony carapace gives it a distinctly angular appearance; its oblate form has been compared to a frisbee.