You can sponsor this page

Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Bartail flathead
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Platycephalus indicus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Videos | Google image
Image of Platycephalus indicus (Bartail flathead)
Platycephalus indicus
Picture by NREB, Sarawak/ DANIDA

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Scorpaenoidei (Scorpionfishes) > Platycephalidae (Flatheads)
Etymology: Platycephalus: Greek, platys = flat + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 20 - 200 m (Ref. 36128). Subtropical; 32°N - 35°S, 18°E - 157°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the Philippines, north to southern Japan and Korea, south to northern Australia. Introduced into the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 45.7  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7050); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3476); max. published weight: 3.5 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13. Brownish or grayish above, whitish below; caudal fin 2-3 horizontal black stripes (Ref. 4315). Head strongly depressed. Preopercular spines 2, lower usually longest. Vomerine teeth in a single transverse band. Dorsal fin I,VII,I, I,I,VII,I or I,VIII, 13. Anteriormost lateral line scale usually with a small spine or ridge. Diagonal scale rows slanting backward above lateral line 83-107. Iris lappet a single elongated lobe. Identified by the distinctive color pattern on the caudal fin: centrally yellow and black stripes on upper and lower margins (Ref. 48635).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on sandy and muddy bottoms of coastal waters (Ref. 5213, 48635). Frequently in estuaries, juveniles have been taken in freshwater. Taken by handlining and seining in shallow waters and by trawling at depths to 30 m, usually less (Ref. 9790). A good food fish (Ref. 4315) that is marketed fresh (Ref. 5284). Commercially cultured in Japan. Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Also Ref. 103751.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Bauchot, M.-L., 1987. Poissons osseux. p. 891-1421. In W. Fischer, M.L. Bauchot and M. Schneider (eds.) Fiches FAO d'identification pour les besoins de la pêche. (rev. 1). Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. II. Commission des Communautés Européennes and FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3397)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 04 February 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | OsteoBase: skull, spine | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 21.7 - 28.3, mean 26.5 °C (based on 979 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00501 (0.00398 - 0.00631), b=3.05 (2.98 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.6 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=7).
Prior r = 0.64, 95% CL = 0.42 - 0.96, Based on 1 data-limited stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (34 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Very high vulnerability (79 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 43.2 [3.4, 132.2] mg/100g; Iron = 1.21 [0.32, 3.24] mg/100g; Protein = 18.8 [16.5, 21.1] %; Omega3 = 0.211 [0.090, 0.614] g/100g; Selenium = 48.1 [16.2, 149.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 28.9 [8.7, 99.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.763 [0.357, 1.425] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.