Bartail Flathead

The Bartail Flathead (Platycephalus indicus), also known as the 🇮🇳 Indian Flathead, Gobi, or Indo-Pacific Flathead, is a predominantly marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Platycephalidae family. This species inhabits the 🌊 Indian Ocean and the Western 🌊 Pacific Ocean and has extended its range to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Originally described in 1758 as Callionymus indicus by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the type locality was broadly designated as "Asia." In 1795, German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch introduced the genus Platycephalus with his description of Platycephalus spathula from Tranquebar, 🇮🇳 India. In 1917, David Starr 🇯🇴 Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann identified Bloch's P. spathula as the type species of the genus. P. spathula is now recognized as a junior synonym of Linnaeus's C. indicus.

The Bartail Flathead is characterized by a flattened head that lacks spines or serrated ridges, except for low parieto-occipital, scapular, and preopercular ridges. A short, blunt spine is positioned in front of the eye, and the preoperculum features two strong, slightly upturned spines. The species possesses canine-like vomerine teeth, a single distinct row of palatine canine-like teeth, and broad bands of villiform teeth on the jaws. The first dorsal fin comprises a short, separate first spine and an additional 7-9 spines, while the second dorsal fin, along with the anal fin, contains 13 soft rays. Notably, the rear margins of these fins exhibit deep incisions in the membrane between the rays. The body is predominantly brown with 8 to 9 indistinct dusky bands across the back, and the top of the head is finely mottled with roundish spots each bordered by a pale ring. The ventral body is yellowish, while the fins, except the caudal fin, display rows of dusky spots on the fin rays. The caudal fin is marked by a longitudinal black band in its center, flanked by two diagonal black bands. This species can reach a total length of up to 100 cm (39 in), though 60 cm (24 in) is more typical, with a maximum published weight of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb).

The Bartail Flathead's extensive Indo-Pacific distribution ranges from the 🌊 Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa to the 🇵🇭 Philippines, extending north to 🇯🇵 Japan and south to Papua 🇵🇬 New Guinea. Previously believed to occur in northern 🇦🇺 Australia, it has since been determined that this population constitutes a separate species, P. australis. Since 1953, it has occasionally been recorded in Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, likely having entered via the Suez Canal (🇪🇬 Egypt).

Typically inhabiting depths between 20 and 200 meters (66 and 656 feet), the Bartail Flathead resides over sandy and muddy substrates, often near reefs or seagrass beds. Juveniles have been observed in the freshwater reaches of rivers. As an ambush predator, the Bartail Flathead primarily feeds on fish and crustaceans.