This boxfish is moderately common. Adults vary in color and are seen on seaward, lagoon and pinnacle reefs regularly. Little yellow juveniles with black spots are not often observed, but seem to settle out in waves. Most of the time, juveniles cannot be found at all. Occasionally, however, they might be almost common, and can be seen (one or two per dive) on various lagoon pinnacles and shallow shipwrecks. Sometimes they are also present in the reef quarries on the seaward side of Kwajalein Island.
Juvenile coloration.
While large adults are ususally not very easy to approach, we have seen several simply resting on the bottom in sand or algae patches like the two different fish in the series of photos below. For some reason, when they are doing this, they often let us get quite close.
Created 22 October 2010
Updated 6 March 2023