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Glite Dictionary
family Ostraciontidae

family Ostraciontidae

9.9
Sea fish with a hard bony plate covering most of their body that makes them box-shaped
  • noun
  • Specialized
: familia Ostraciontidae
  • Many aquariums feature species from the family Ostraciontidae because of their unique box-shaped bodies.

Examples

  • The family Ostraciontidae includes various species of boxfish.

  • The family Ostraciontidae is found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide.

  • Scientists studied the defensive adaptations of fishes in the family Ostraciontidae.

  • Did you know that the family Ostraciontidae is known for its unique shape?

  • Many aquariums feature species from the family Ostraciontidae because of their unique box-shaped bodies.

  • The family Ostraciontidae is found in tropical and subtropical marine waters worldwide.

  • Scientists studied the defensive adaptations of fishes in the family Ostraciontidae.

Synonyms

family Ostraciidae
vsfamily Ostraciontidae
  • Specialized
9.6

A group of small sea fish with a hard, box-like body

is more general, not restricted to small size or tropical range
Ostraciidae
vsfamily Ostraciontidae
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of small tropical sea fish with box-shaped bodies and hard bony shells

is more general, not limited to tropical or small-sized groups

Surface Forms

family Ostraciontidae singular
families Ostraciontidae plural

Morphology

family + Ostraciontidae

The structure is compositionally clear because 'family' signals a taxonomic grouping and combining it with a Latin family name indicates 'a family of organisms', so a learner can infer the phrase denotes a biological group. However, the specific content ('boxfishes') cannot be derived from the proper name Ostraciontidae without specialist knowledge of taxonomy or recognition of the suffix -idae, so the full meaning is not predictable to a general B1 learner.

Etymology

Family Ostraciontidae comes from the name Ostracion, which may come from a Greek word for 'shell' because these fish have a hard, box-like body. So the name refers to a 'family' of fish with a bony 'shell' covering most of their bodies.