''Anoplocapros lenticularis'', the white-barred boxfish, flame boxfish, high-backed boxfish, humpback boxfish, humpty dumpty or smooth boxfish, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Aracanidae Aracanidae, the deep sea boxfishes or temperate boxfishes, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonong to the order Tetraodontiformes, which also includes the pufferfishes, triggerfishes and ocean sunfishes. The fishes in this family are f ...

, the deepwater boxfishes or temperate boxfishes. This fish is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the seas of southern and western Australia.

Taxonomy

''Anoplocapros lenticularis'' was first formally described as ''Ostracion lenticularis'' in 1841 by the Scottish

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Specialis ...

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

John Richardson with its type locality given as Australia. In 1855

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

proposed a new subgenus of ''

Aracana ''Aracana'' is a genus of Marine life, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Aracanidae, the deepwater boxfishes or temperate boxfishes. These fishes are Endemism, endemic to the waters around Australi ...

'' which he called ''Anoplocapros'', in 1865

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...

designated ''O. lenticularis'' as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of ''Anoplocapros''. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies the genus ''Anoplocapros'' within the family Aracanidae within the suborder Ostracioidea within the order Tetraodontiformes.

Etymology

''Anoplocapros lenticularis'' is in the genus ''Anoplocapros'', a name which compounds ''anoplos'', meaning "unarmed", with ''capros'', which means a "wild boar". The unarmed part refers to the lack of spines, while the allusion to wild boars may refer to these fishes being known as sea pigs in the 19th Century, probably an allusion to the resemblance of these fishes on a rear view to a pig. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''lenticularis'', means "like a lentil", in 1844 Richardson said that this referred to the "wart-like umbo" at the centre of each plate-like scale.

Description

''Anoplocapros lenticularis'' has between 9 and 11 soft rays in its

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

, 10 or 11 in its

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

, 12 in its

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

and 11 in its

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. It has a deep body which is armoured with a bony carapace made up of plate-like scales. There are two series of bony plate-like scales around the

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

, the front plate is broken but the rear one is complete, both these rings have the plate-like scales are rough to the touch because they are covered in

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projectio ...

s. The adults have a concave snout with the yes located high on the head. The back and belly are keeled and in males the dorsal profile is higher than that of females. The small juveniles have a more rounded shape. The overall colour of the adult males is yellowish-orange to brownish-orange or reddish with wide light grey to whitish bands on r=the flank, one running from th eye to the lips, a second the top of the dorsal keel to the cheek and a third along the rear edge of the bony carapace. The females are similar but are lighter in colour and have irregular black lines and spots on the upper body. The juveniles are similar to the females bit have a greater number of spots. The white-barred boxfish has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Anoplocapros lenticularis'' is endemic to the waters off western and southern Australia where it is found from the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral r ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Western Port Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

at depth down to on offshore reefs and around jetties.

Biology

''Anoplocapros lenticularis'' preys on invertebrates, particularly crustaceans. They have separate sexes and their eggs and larvae are pelagic.

References

* Whitebarred Boxfish, Anoplocapros lenticularis (Richardson 1841) at fishesofaustralia.net.au
/small> {{Taxonbar, from=Q2587154 lenticularis Marine fish of Southern Australia Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist) Fish described in 1841