Platax batavianus
Humped batfish | Batavia Batfish | Batavian Batfish | Batfish | Hump-headed Spadefish | Humpback Batfish | Moonfish | Zebra Batfish
Platax batavianus, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Platax batavianus, WA, Australia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Platax batavianus, WA, Australia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Platax batavianus, WA, Australia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
High silvery body, often black spots scattered over belly, convex head profile, developing large hump and a squarer body shape in adults than other batfishes. Black band through eye, second broad band over pectoral fin base, and a third at rear of body that fade with age. Juvenile (not shown) has intricate black and white banding, and long fins with uneven edges.
Information
Max Size: 65 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.5-31.7°C
Depth: 5-40m
Habitat Generalization Index: 3.82
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 (5.1% 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