📸 PhotoPhoto: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Longhorn cowfish
Lactoria cornuta (Longhorn cowfish · コンゴウフグ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 46 cm is about 4 cm longer than the long side of an A3 sheet of paper (42 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 According to FishBase, its body is dried to make ornaments and it is traded commercially as an aquarium fish.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The longhorn cowfish is a fish in the order Tetraodontiformes that lives along the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is also commonly seen on muddy or sandy bottoms inside bays, as well as in harbors and estuaries.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is short and deep, with background-blending coloration ranging from green or olive to orange and dotted with blue spots. The dorsal and anal fins have no spines and each has 8–9 soft rays.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It blows away sand on the bottom to feed on invertebrates hidden inside. Adults live alone while juveniles sometimes form small groups, and large adults are shy.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/193635/2250846
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3RSXX
- • iucnredlist.org — 2250846
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000059374 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000059374
- • wikidata.org — Q664165
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pez cofre cornudo (Lactoria cornuta), Mauricio, 2025-09
- • fishbase.se — Lactoria-cornuta.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Emily Troyer · CC BY 4.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Lactoria diaphana)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.