Yellow boxfish

The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) is literally a box: beneath its skin, hexagonal bony plates have fused into a rigid carapace from which only the fins, eyes, mouth and tail protrude. Juveniles are tiny, brilliant yellow cubes with black spots – genuinely like a runaway dice. As they grow, the body elongates and the colour fades to bluish grey and brown, and large adults look more like a well-travelled old suitcase than a cube.

Because of the rigid armour a boxfish cannot flex its body: it sculls with its small pectoral, dorsal and anal fins and uses the tail as a rudder. The motion looks slow yet is astonishingly precise – the fish hovers on the spot, shifts into reverse and manoeuvres to the centimetre between coral branches. Under serious stress it can release a toxic skin secretion (pahutoxin) that deters predators.

It is common around Hurghada: it forages in the sheltered corners of the coral gardens and under overhangs for sponges, algae and small invertebrates. The spotted yellow juveniles hide in shallow lagoons and in crevices on the reef tops – you can find them while snorkeling if you patiently scan the shadows of the corals. Photographers adore it: it is slow, and a cube is funny from every angle.