Lembeh Strait (Indonesia: Selat Lembeh) is a narrow stretch of water between Sulawesi and Lembeh Island (Pulau Lembeh), Indonesia. Lembeh Strait is world-known for its extremely high density of rare and unusual marine life, in particular cowfish.
Cowfish is not as big as a cow, but as small as a finger, you can barely see it if you don’t have a diving guide.
Thornback cowfish (Lactoria fornasini) is a poisonous species of boxfish found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific from East Africa to West Pacific.
Thornback cowfish is very tiny, it can grow to a maximum length of 23 cm. It is also an uncommon fish that feeds on small invertebrates that it picks up off the sea bed.
Thornback cowfish occurs in areas of sand, rubble, corals and algae both in lagoons and on the seaward side of reefs. It can be found as deep as 132 meters but a more normal depth range is between about 6 and 30 meters.
