SOLITARY ISLANDS
UNDERWATER
RESEARCH GROUP, INC.

Species Index

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Platax teira
(Forrskal, 1775)

Common Name: Longfinned Batfish

Distribution: Relatively common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific region: from the Red Sea and East Africa, to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia. Recorded in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. In Australia recorded from Geraldton in Western Australia, throughout the tropical north, including the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to Moruya in southern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Juveniles inhabit shallow protected inner reefs, sometimes congregating under floating rafts of seaweed or debris, adults occur in lagoon and seaward reefs. Commonly found in small groups around shipwrecks. Depth 3 – 25 m.

Additional Notes: Silver spade shaped body with two broad dark bands, one through the eye the other over the pectoral fin. Prominent blotch at rear of pectoral fin distinguishes it from related P. obicularis. Diet consists of algae and a variety of invertebrates.  Grows to 70 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.415.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Platax+teira. Accessed 01/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Platax-teira.html. Accessed 01/07/18.