Ostracion cornutus (Boxfish), Haeckel Fine Art Postcard

Kunstformen der Natur, 1904 The 42nd plate from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), showing boxfish. Species 1. Ostracion cornutus (Linné) = Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758), body from above 2. Ostracion cornutus (Linné) = Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758), from the front 3. Ostracion cornutus (Linné) = Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758), mouth 4. Ostracion cornutus (Linné) = Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758), from the side 5. Ostracion cornutus (Linné) = Lactoria cornuta (Linnaeus, 1758), armour plate 6. Ostracion quadricornis (Linné) = Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus, 1758), from the side 7. Ostracion quadricornis (Linné) = Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus, 1758), armour plate from flanks 8. Ostracion quadricornis (Linné) = Acanthostracion quadricornis (Linnaeus, 1758), armour plate from belly 9. Ostracion auritus (Shaw) = Aracana aurita (Shaw, 1798), from the side 10. Ostracion turritus (Swainson) = Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758), from the side English: 6-8: Scrawled Cowfish 9: Striped Cowfish 10: Humpback Turretfish The boxfishes are a family, Ostraciidae, of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes. Boxfishes occupy the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, generally at middle latitudes, although the common or buffalo trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus) which lives mainly in Florida waters may be found as far north as Cape Cod. The cowfish variety Lactophrys quadricornis can grow to be 50 cm or less in size, but are generally smaller at higher latitudes. They are a variety of different colours, and are notable for the hexagonal or "honeycomb" patterns in their skin and skeletons. They swim in a rowing manner. The hexagonal plate-like scales of these fish are fused together into a solid, triangular, box-like carapace, from which the fins and tail protrude. Young boxfishes are more rounded in shape and may exhibit bright colours. Because of these heavy armoured scales, boxfishes are limited to slow movements, but few other fish are able to eat the adults. Boxfish of the Genus Lactophrys also secrete poisons from their skin into the surrounding water, further protecting them from predation. Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919), also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including phylum, phylogeny, ecology and the kingdom Protista. Vintage artistic nature animal realism fine art.