Platax teira

Platax teira, also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific.

Longfin batfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Moroniformes
Family: Ephippidae
Genus: Platax
Species:
P. teira
Binomial name
Platax teira
(Forsskål, 1775)
Synonyms[2]
  • Chaetodon teira Forsskål, 1775

Taxonomy

Platax teira was first formally described as Chaetodon teira by the Swedish-speaking Finnish explorer, orientalist, naturalist Peter Forsskål with its type locality given as Al Luḩayyah on the Red Sea coast of Yemen.[3] This species was descinated as the type species of the genus Platax by Pieter Bleeker in 1876, Platax belongs to the family Ephippidae[4] in the order Moroniformes.[5] The specific name teira is a latinisation of the Arabic teyra the name given to the juveniles in Yemen.[6]

Description
Platax teira
In Prague sea aquarium

Platax teira has a dark blotch under the pectoral fin, with another long dark mark above the base of the anal fin. Looked at from the side, it has a roughly circular body with a low hump on the nape. This fish is usually silver, grey or brownish. It has a blackish band through the eye and another band with the pectoral fin. They will change colour from silvery white with no bands, to brown with darker banding as you watch, and then fade back to silver again.[7] This species has a maximum published total length of 70 cm (28 in).[2] The very small juveniles are brownish in colour and look like floating leaves. The larger juveniles have the pelvic fins and front soft rays of the dorsal and anal fins highly elongated, extending to around the psteriot of the base of the anal fin.[8]

Distribution and habitat

Platax teira has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia. It has also been recorded in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand.[2] In Australia it can be found from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the southern coast of New South Wales.[7] In India it was reported from the Gulf of Mannar following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[9] It has been reported twice recently in the Mediterranean Sea,[10] off Turkey[11] and Israel.[12]

Long-fin Batfish (Platax teira) in transitional stage between juvenile and adult.

They are known to reside among floating seaweed, debris, and artificial reefs.[13] The species occurs in shallow coastal habitats to deeper offshore.[7]

Biology

Platax teira is an omnivore. It will eat plankton, sessile invertebrates, small invertebrates, and marine algae.[14] The small juveniles stay among floating debris, forming aggregations as the individual fishes find each other. At larger sizes they increasingly become more pelagic and will form sizeable schools which shelter beneath large rafts of Sargassum that typically form following the wet season.[2]

Utilisation

In the aquarium

They are a very peaceful and social fish and will form schools with others of their species. They should not be kept with very aggressive species that may harass them as juveniles. Teira batfish are usually rather small when first purchased, but they will rapidly outgrow a small home aquarium to reach a maximum size of 24".[14]

Fisheries

Platax teira is caught using hook-and-line, palisade traps, spear, trawls and hand nets.[15] The flesh is not valued[2] and may have an excellent flavour or taste rank and weedy.[15]

  • Teira batfish in Raja Ampat Papua, 2014
    Teira batfish in Raja Ampat Papua, 2014
  • Teira batfish in Egyptian Red Sea, 2010
    Teira batfish in Egyptian Red Sea, 2010
  • Teira batfish in South West Rocks Australia, 2005
    Teira batfish in South West Rocks Australia, 2005
  • Teira batfish at Maedamisaki Okinawa, 2009
    Teira batfish at Maedamisaki Okinawa, 2009
  • Longfin batfish, 2018
    Longfin batfish, 2018
  • Batfish near Comores, Indian Ocean
    Batfish near Comores, Indian Ocean

References
  1. Carpenter, K.E.; Robertson, R. (2019). "Platax teira". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T54007396A54023123. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T54007396A54023123.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Platax teira" in FishBase. February 2023 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Platax". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Ephippidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 495–497. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order ACANTHURIFORMES (part 2): Families EPHIPPIDAE, LEIOGNATHIDAE, SCATOPHAGIDAE, ANTIGONIIDAE, SIGANIDAE, CAPROIDAE, LUVARIDAE, ZANCLIDAE and ACANTHURIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  7. Mark McGrouther (6 May 2022). "Roundface Batfish, Platax teira Forsskål, 1775". Australian Museum. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  8. Bray, D.J. (2019). "Platax teira". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. Marimuthu, N.; J.J. Wilson; and A.K. Kumaraguru (2005). "Teira batfish, Platax teira (Forsskal, 1775) in Pudhumadam coastal waters, drifted due to the tsunami of 26 December 2004". Current Science. 89 (8): 1310–1312.
  10. Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Platax teira). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Platax_teira.pdf
  11. Bilecenoglu, M., & Kaya, M. (2006). A new alien fish in the Mediterranean Sea–Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775)(Osteichthyes: Ephippidae). Aquatic Invasions, 1(2), 80-83.
  12. Daniel Golani; Oren Sonin & Dor Edelist (2011). "Second records of the Lessepsian fish migrants Priacanthus sagittarius and Platax teira and distribution extension of Tylerius spinosissimus in the Mediterranean". Aquatic Invasions. 6 (1, supplement): s7–s11. doi:10.3391/ai.2011.6.S1.002.
  13. Ketabi, Ramin. "Platax teira". Aquatic Commons. Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute.
  14. "Teira Batfish, (Platax teira) Species Profile, Teira Batfish, (Platax teira) Hobbyist Guide, Teira Batfish, (Platax teira) Care Instructions, Teira Batfish care, Feeding and more.  :: Aquarium Domain.com". AquariumDomain.
  15. P. C. Heemstra (2001). "Ephippidae (spadefishes (batfishes)". In Carpenter, K.E. & Neim, Volker H. (eds.). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 5: Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) (PDF). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO Rome. p. 3619.
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