It is not difficult to recognize why it is called also longhorn cowfish or horned boxfish: at the head it has small horns, which look like the horns of a cow!
Its body is protected, as with the other boxfish, by a bone-carapace.
The cowfish is a rather fast fish: It uses its pectoral fins like small propellers.
As sweet as the cowfish looks, it can be dangerous for other fish. It has a strong skin poison, which it releases directly into the water when in danger. Thus other fish can be killed within a very short time.