Humpback turretfish
Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Tetrosomus gibbosus, commonly called camel cowfish because of the hump on its dorsal keel, is one of 22 species in the boxfish family, Ostraciidae. It is a ray finned fish. Other common names include helmet cowfish, humpback turretfish and thornbacked boxfish. It is most closely related to T. reipublicae, the smallspine turretfish. T. gibbosus is a species of boxfish found in the wide Indo-West Pacific. It has been recorded since 1988 on rare occasions in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, likely following entry via the Suez Canal. It is the first species from the family Ostraciidae to be found in the Mediterranean Sea.
It carries some value in the aquarium trade, but is difficult to keep.
Wikipedia contributors, Tetrosomus gibbosus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:04.804466+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Humpback turretfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Ostraciidae
- Genus
- Tetrosomus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTetraodontiformes
- suborderBalistoidei
- familyOstraciidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusTetrosomus Swainson, 1839
- speciesTetrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tetrosomus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Tetrosomus stellifer (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | OstraciidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tertrosomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Tetrasomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Tetrosomus gibosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Rhinesomus gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Tetrasoma gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Ostracion turritus Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Ostracion gibbosus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219915 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7C5VG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.