Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis
Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis. Fish caught off the Dania Pier, Dania, Florida, January 2016. Length: 16.5 cm (6.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis. Fish caught off the Channel 5 Bridge (MM 71.4), Florida Keys, Florida, December 2015. Length: 17 cm (6.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 2014. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).
The Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis, is a member of the Boxfish or Ostraciidae Family, and is known in Mexico as chapin pintado. There are three global members of the Lactophrys Genus, with all three being residents of Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Spotted Trunkfish has an oblong thick body with a humped back that are enclosed in a bony box formed by thickened, joined, enlarged, and hexagonal scale plates. They have a pale gray to whitish background color and are covered with numerous dark brown to black spots. They white around the mouth and the lips are white; mature fish have 2 white spots behind the eyes. The juveniles are orange-white and covered with a limited number of black spots. The box has openings for the mouth, eyes, gill slits, fins and tail. They have a triangular shaped body that is narrow on top and wide at the base. The heads have pointed snouts with protuberant fleshy lips encircling a small mouth that opens in the front that is equipped with small conical teeth and short gill slits. The anal fin has 2 sharp spines; the caudal fin is fan-like and rounded; the dorsal fins are far back in the body; and, they do not have pelvic fins. All of their fins do not have spines. The lateral line is inconspicuous.
The Spotted Trunkfish is a slow swimmer that is found in and around coral reefs that are normally found as solitary individuals but can occasionally be seen in small groups. They are found at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They reach a maximum of 48 cm (19 inches) in length. They are protected by a slime coat covering the body that contains ostracitoxin that provides them with defense against predation. The presence of ostracitoxin makes them unsuitable for use in aquariums. They probe the bottom generating a jet stream of water ejected through the mouth to expose benthic invertebrates including acorn worms, mollusks, peanut worms, polychaete worms, and sponges on which they feed. The Spotted Trunkfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Spotted Trunkfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
The Spotted Trunkfish is similar in size and shape to several other trunkfish, however they are most likely confused with the Smooth Trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter (white spotting).
From a conservation perspective the Spotted Trunkfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are of limited interest to most other than to divers as they are visually awesome; they have also been used on a limited basis to make a nice table decor when allowed to dry.