''Platycephalus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of mostly marine, demersal

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Platycephalidae. They are found in the eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Platycephalus'' was first proposed as a genus in 1795 by the German

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Marcus Elieser Bloch Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...

with ''Callionymus indicus'', which had been described in 1748 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

from "Asia", as its

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. This genus is classified within the family Playtcephalidae, the flatheads which the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies within the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Platycephaloidei Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the Order (biology), order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the Platycephalidae, flatheads, ghost flatheads and Triglidae, sea robins. Taxonomy Platycephaloidei was first recognised and n ...

in the order

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse Order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of spec ...

Etymology

The genus name ''Platycephalus'' means "flat head" an allusion to the wide flattened head of these fishes which leads to the English common name flathead.

Species

There are currently 19 recognised species in this genus: * '' Platycephalus angustus'' Steindachner, 1866 (Steindachner's flathead) * '' Platycephalus aurimaculatus'' L. W. Knapp, 1987 (Toothy flathead) * '' Platycephalus australis'' Imamura, 2015 (Australian bartail flathead) * '' Platycephalus bassensis'' Cuvier, 1829 (Sand flathead) * '' Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus'' McCulloch, 1922 (Blue-spotted flathead) * '' Platycephalus chauliodous'' L. W. Knapp, 1991 (Big-tooth flathead) * '' Platycephalus conatus'' Waite & McCulloch, 1915 (Deep-water flathead) * '' Platycephalus cultellatus'' J. Richardson, 1846 * '' Platycephalus endrachtensis'' Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1825 (Yellow-tail flathead) * '' Platycephalus fuscus'' Cuvier, 1829 (Dusky flathead) * '' Platycephalus grandispinis'' Cuvier, 1829 (Long-spined flathead) Imamura, H. (2013): Validity of ''Platycephalus grandispinis'' Cuvier, 1829, with Priority over ''Platycephalus longispinis'' Macleay, 1884 (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Platycephalidae). ''Species Diversity, 18 (2): 183-192.'' * '' Platycephalus indicus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) (Bar-tail flathead) * '' Platycephalus laevigatus'' Cuvier, 1829 (Black flathead) * '' Platycephalus marmoratus'' Stead, 1908 (Marbled flathead) * '' Platycephalus micracanthus'' Sauvage, 1873 * '' Platycephalus orbitalis'' Imamura & L. W. Knapp, 2009 (Western Australian flathead) * '' Platycephalus richardsoni'' Castelnau, 1872 (Tiger flathead) * '' Platycephalus speculator'' Klunzinger, 1872 (Southern bluespotted flathead) * '' Platycephalus westraliae'' ( Whitley, 1938)

Characteristics

''Platycephalus'' flatheads have no less than two spines on the preoperculum. with the lowerer spine being the longest. The upper lobe of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

does not have an elongated filament. They have between 7 and 10 spines in the first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

and more than 13 soft rays in the second dorsal fin. They are further separated by having a single band of vomerine teeth rather than two distinct patches. The largest species is ''P. fuscus'' with a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of while the smallest is ''P. orbitalis'' with a maximum published total length of .

Distribution

''Platycephalus'' flatheads are found in the Indo-West Pacific region, mostly around Australia where 16 of the 19 species in the genus are found. One species, the bartail flathead (''P. indicus''), has entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

as a Lessepsian migrant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2445813 Platycephalidae Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch