Longfin batfish (Platax teira)

Scientific name: Platax teira Forssk?l, 1775

Longfin batfish (Platax teira)

The Longfin batfish (Platax teira) is a marine fish of the family Ephippidae. Native range: Indo-West Pacific, Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 5 - 6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 28-37; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 22 - 28. Ocular band of adult specimens uniformly dark. Yellowish silvery or dusky, with a black (or dusky) bar through eye and another dark bar from dorsal-fin origin across rear edge of operculum and pectoral-fin base to belly, where it usually encloses a black blotch, with another smaller black vertical streak often present at origin of anal fin. Median fins dusky yellow, with black margins posteriorly. Pelvic fins yellow, dusky yellow or blackish. Body orbicular and strongly compressed, its depth more than twice length of head and 0.9 to 1.2 times SL. Head length 2.7 to 3.5 times in SL. Large adults (above 35 cm standard length) with bony hump from top of head to interorbital region, the front head profile almost vertical. Interorbital width 42 to 50% head length. Jaws with bands of slender, flattened, tricuspid teeth, the middle cusp sligh

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Platax teira
Family
Ephippidae (Spadefishes, batfishes and scats)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
70.0
Depth range
20 m (66 ft)
Environment
Marine; reef-associated; amphidromous; depth range ? - 20 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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