Platax orbicularis
Round batfish | Batfish | Circular Batfish | Circular Spadefish | Cooper Batfish | Narrow-banded Batfish | Orbicular Batfish | Orbiculate Batfish | Sicklefish
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Silvery body, slightly concave head profile with slight bulge over eye, and mouth protruding further forward than bulge. Dark bar through eye, a second behind pectoral fin, a third on rear of body and a fourth on tail. Black pelvic fins with yellow leading edge. Often with black speckles on mid side, and black pelvic fins with yellow upper edges. Juvenile brown with dark band through eye and dark blotches in a band on rear of body.
Information
Max Size: 50 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.8-31.4°C
Depth: 5-30m
Habitat Generalization Index: 1.06
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Infrequent (2.9% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields