Sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis)

Scientific name: Platycephalus bassensis Cuvier, 1829

Sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis)

The Sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) is a brackish-water fish of the family Platycephalidae. Native range: Indo-Pacific, known only from southern Australia.

Biology

Vertebrae: 18 - 20. This species differs from Platycephalus westraliae in having the following characters: both second dorsal and anal fin rays usually 14 (vs. 13), total gill rakers 18-20 (vs. 10); palatine with a tooth band comprised of several irregular rows of conical teeth (vs. with an inner larger conical and an outer smaller villiform tooth rows); caudal fin with several small pale brown spots on the upper lobe and one or two large dark brown or black spots on the lower lobe, and with concave posterior margin (vs. with 3 dark bands and with mostly straight posterior margin).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Platycephalus bassensis
Family
Platycephalidae (Flatheads)
Order
Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and Flatheads)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
46.0
Depth range
100 m (328 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range ? - 100 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Indo-Pacific: known only from southern Australia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.19; tmax=9)

Sources

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

Last updated