Boxfish (Hakofufu) - trunk fish

Japanese: ハコフグ(箱河豚) - ハコフグ（英語表記）trunk fish

A general term for marine fish of the Ostraciontidae family of the Tetraodontidae order, or one of these species. Seven species are known to inhabit the coastal waters of Japan, all of which live along the coasts of various areas south of central Honshu, with many species distributed further south from the Indian Ocean to South Africa. Most of their body is covered in hard, bony, plate-like scales, giving them a box-like shape, and they are unable to bend their bodies, so they swim by swinging their exposed caudal peduncle and tail fin, exposed from the carapace, from side to side. As their muscles are not well developed, they are rarely eaten.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

フグ目ハコフグ科Ostraciontidaeの海産魚の総称，またはそのうちの1種を指す。日本近海では7種が知られているが，いずれも本州中部以南の各地沿岸にすみ，さらに南方，インド洋から南アフリカにわたって分布するものも少なくない。体の大部分は硬い骨板状のうろこで包まれて箱形を呈し，そのため体を屈曲させることができず，甲から裸出した尾柄部と尾びれを左右に振って泳ぐ。筋肉が発達していないのでほとんど食用にはしない。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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