genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of Indo-Pacific, reef-associated fish belonging to the family Ephippidae. There are currently five known extant species generally accepted to belong to the genus. They are one of the fish
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
Members of the genus ''Platax'' are generally similar in shape to the other species in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
. Adults are rather disc-shaped fish, with laterally compressed bodies and large dorsal and anal fins that give individuals a somewhat triangular profile. ''
Platax teira
''Platax teira'', also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a fish from the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in length.
Descript ...
'' is the largest species, reaching lengths of around . The other species reach maximum lengths of around .
Distribution
''Platax'' can be found in reefs throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region. Their range extends from the western Indian Ocean in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
to as far east as Australia. Most ''Platax'' species can be found in higher latitudes, as high as the
Ryukyu
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonagu ...
Islands in Japan and as far south as the eastern coast of Australia. However, the ranges of the individual species is not consistent throughout the genus' range. '' Platax pinnatus'' for example is most likely not found in the Indian Ocean. A few individuals have been found in
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
waters. Apparently, the species '' Platax orbicularis'' has been observed in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
waters as a non-native, invasive species. The aquarium industry has been blamed for the spread of this species into the Caribbean.
Members of the genus are most common around
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
The genus was first used by Cuvier with the publication of his 1816 system of animal classification. He assigned the genus to the batfish species '' Platax boersii'', a classification which still holds to this day. Another species to be assigned to the genus by Cuvier was '' Platax ocellatus'', a
butterflyfish
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atla ...
that is now more correctly classified in the genus '' Chaetodon'' in Chaetodontidae. In the same work, a species that is now known to belong to the genus, ''
Platax teira
''Platax teira'', also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a fish from the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in length.
Descript ...
'' was classified by Cuvier in a different genus, ''Chaetodon teira''.
A few species have been assigned to the genus that have since been reclassified into other genera. The butterflyfish, ''C. ocellatus'' mentioned above is one of these species. Another species that has been mistakenly classified as a ''Platax'' is the common freshwater angelfish, '' Pterophyllum scalare''. In a joint effort with
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
, Cuvier published a natural history work in 1831 where the freshwater angelfish was classified as ''Platax scalaris''. The freshwater angelfish, of course is not as closely related to the marine batfish as to warrant classification in the same genus. A more scientifically acceptable mis-classification would be that of the species ''
Zabidius novemaculeatus
''Zabidius novemaculeatus'', the ninespine batfish or short-finned batfish, is a species of batfish native to coral reefs around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia at depths of from . This species grows to a length of TL and has been k ...
''. This species was first described as ''Platax novemaculeatus'' by Mcculloch when it was discovered from Australia in the early 1900s. The species is now classified in the genus ''
Zabidius
''Zabidius novemaculeatus'', the ninespine batfish or short-finned batfish, is a species of batfish native to coral reefs around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia at depths of from . This species grows to a length of TL and has been k ...
'', which is still in the same
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
as the genus ''Platax''.
The generic name, "platax" was coined from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
term ''platys'' - meaning "flat". This refers to the generally compressed body shape of the fish. They are commonly called "batfish". However, they are not the only fish taxon called by this name. Fish from the only distantly related family
Ogcocephalidae
Ogcocephalidae is a family of anglerfish specifically adapted for a benthic lifestyle of crawling about on the seafloor. Ogcocephalid anglerfish are sometimes referred to as batfishes, Other families with species that have been referred to as "batfish" include the families
Dactylopteridae
The flying gurnards are a family, Dactylopteridae, of marine fish notable for their greatly enlarged pectoral fins. As they cannot literally fly or glide in the air (like flying fish), an alternative name preferred by some authors is helmet gurna ...
,
Drepaneidae
''Drepane'' is a genus of fishes known commonly as the sicklefishes. It is the only genus in the perciform fish family Drepaneidae. These fish occur in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, and in the eastern Atlantic near Africa.
Species
The ...
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
Platax teira
''Platax teira'', also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a fish from the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in length.
Descript ...