longhorn cowfish

longhorn cowfish

The longhorn cowfish, Lactoria cornuta, is a variety of boxfish from the family Ostraciidae, recognizable by its long horns that protrude from the front of its head, rather like those of a cow or bull. They are a resident of the Indo-Pacific region and can grow up to 20 inches long. While badly suited to the home aquarium, the cowfish is becoming increasingly popular as a pet. Adults are reef fish, often solitary and territorial, live around sand or rubble bottom up to a depth of 50 m. They are omnivorous, feeding upon benthic algae, various microorganisms, and foraminiferans that it strains from sediments, sponges, polychaete worms from sand flats, mollusks, small crustaceans, and small fishes, able to feed on benthic invertebrates by blowing jets of water into the sandy substrate. Its primary habitat is coral reefs in lagoons, on reef flats, and on protected seaward reefs. Juvenilesassociate with Acropora corals. Depth range is 3.3–148 ft (1–45 m, perhaps up to 100 m). Red Sea and East Africa eastward through Indonesia to Marquesas, northward to southern Japan. Including Tuamotus, southern Korea, north to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, south to Australia and Lord Howe Island, and off southern Africa in the Atlantic. Tropical and subtropical waters.

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Dolphins

Dolphins

Dolphins are marine mammals closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) , up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves and are carnivores, eating mostly fish and squid. The family Delphinidae, the largest in the Cetacean order, evolved relatively recently, about ten million years ago during the Miocene. The name is originally from Greek δελφίς ,dolphin", which was related to the Greek δελφύς , "womb". The animal's name can therefore be interpreted as meaning "a 'fish' with a womb". 

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Stingrays

Stingrays

Stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae, Urolophidae (stingarees), Urotrygonidae (round rays), Dasyatidae (whiptail stingrays), Potamotrygonidae (river stingrays), Gymnuridae (butterfly rays), and Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Most stingrays have one or more barbed stingers on the tail, which are used exclusively in self-defense. The stinger may reach a length of approximately 35 cm (14 in), and its underside has two grooves with venom glands. The stinger is covered with a thin layer of skin, the integumentarysheath, in which the venom is concentrated. A few members of the suborder, such as the manta rays and the porcupine ray, do not have stingers. Stingrays are common in coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world, and also includes species found in warmer temperate oceans, such as Dasyatis thetidis, and those found in the deep ocean, such as Plesiobatis daviesi. The river stingrays, and a number of whiptail stingrays, are restricted to fresh water. Most myliobatoids are demersal, but some, such as the pelagic stingray and the eagle rays, are pelagic. While most stingrays are relatively widespread and not currently threatened, for several species, the conservation status is more problematic, leading to them being listed as vulnerable or endangered by IUCN. 

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