boxfish, any of a small group of shallow-water marine fishes of the family Ostraciontidae (or Ostraciidae), distinguished by a hard, boxlike, protective carapace covering most of the body. The alternative name cowfish refers to the hornlike projections on the heads of some species. The members of the family, found along the bottom in warm and tropical seas throughout the world, are considered good to eat and are often dried as curios.
Except for the eyes, the low-set mouth, and the fins and tail, boxfishes are encased in the rigid carapace. This covering consists of fused plates, and in cross section, depending on the species of fish, it takes the shape of a rough triangle, square, or pentagon. Boxfishes are often very attractively coloured. They are small, the largest growing to about 50 cm (20 inches) long. When captured and handled, boxfishes exude a toxic substance that can kill other fishes kept with them.
Related to the boxfishes are the keeled boxfishes of the family Aracanidae. These fishes also have a carapace, but there is a keel along the underside and openings behind the dorsal and anal fins. The members of this group are found from Japan to Australia.