Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, X + 13; A, 13; P, 18-20; V, I + 5; LL, 67-84; GR, 8-11  photo : John E. Randall

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated with depressed head. The first dorsal fin barely connected to the second part, its first and last spines separate from the remaining spines. Soft rays of dorsal and anal fins moderately incised. Caudal fin truncated. Pectoral fin thoracic. Large head (2.9-3.2 in SL) with smooth bony ridges. Lower jaw projected. Small teeth in both jaws. Vomerine teeth in a single transverse patch. Eye dorsally situated. Scales ctenoid. color : back brown grey with whitish belly. Several dark bars on the back of most specimens. Numerous dark spots and blotches on pectoral and pelvic fins. Two (rarely, three) distinct black stripes on caudal fin. size : common 30-50 cm (max. 70 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Other platycephalids: less than 65 scales in lateral line; two separate vomerine teeth patches. Scorpaenidae: clearly continuous dorsal fin. Triglidae: three lowermost pectoral rays detached. Callionymidae: much smaller species; pointed snout with small mouth; no spiny ridges on the head. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds mainly on crustacean and fish. Hunts by "sit and wait" method. Eggs and larvae pelagic. habitat : benthic on sandy or muddy substrate to depth of 40 m. Euryhaline species reported to penetrate estuaries.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1953. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific, Red Sea to eastern Africa, south to Durban and Madagascar to Japan and northern Australia. Mediterranean : recorded first in Israel (Ben Tuvia, 1953a); successively recorded in Egypt (Krefft, 1963) and Lebanon (Mouneimne, 1977). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare. Several specimens were collected from trawl until the late 1970's; since that time no specimens have been recorded. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A., 1953. Mediterranean fishes of Israel. Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Research Station, Haifa, 8: 1-40. Krefft G., 1963. Platycephalus indicus (L.), 1758, ein neues Faunenelement der ägyptischen Mittelmeerküste. Archiv für Fischereiwissenschaft, 14 (3): 148-152. Mouneimne N., 1977. Liste des poissons de la côte du Liban (Méditerranée orientale). Cybium, 1: 37-66. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: March 2001 ©ciesm 2002