Part 2 : A little bit of family history
The yellow boxfish
(Ostracion cubicus) lives in
the Pacific and Indian ocean. It is part of the Genus Ostracion,
which is composed of eight species of box- and trunkfish, all
so-called because of their rectangular shape.
This
genus, in turn, is part of the family ostraciidae,
which accounts for all matter of square fish, called trunkfish,
boxfish, cowfish or cofferfish, probably in accordance to which
square object was most common in the cultures that first discovered
these fishes.
In
addition to the squareness of it's members (often more pronounced in
the adults than in younger fish), the genus ostraciidae
is known for it's hard, bony scales, as well as for the neurotoxins
most of it's members are capable of secreting. This, in addition to
the hard scales, could explain why the boxfish is still here today :
not many predators would be able to devour such an ill-tasting, and
probably rather crunchy meal.
So,
it seems that the boxfish has taken some well thought-out precautions
against extinction. Solid armor and poison always help you stay alive
(if you don't believe me, just watch "Game of Thrones").
But even though we know why the boxfish managed to stay, there is one
thing it does not explain : how did it come to exist in the first
place ?
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