Bartail flathead

The bartail flathead (Platycephalus indicus), also known as the Indian flathead, gobi or Indo-Pacific flathead, is a species of largely marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is found in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean, and has invaded the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Distribution

The bartail flathead has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa east to the Philippines, north to Japan and south to Papua New Guinea. It was previously thought to occur in northern Australia but this population has now been recognised as a separate species P. australis. It is recorded on occasions in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea since 1953, a likely entry from the Suez Canal.

The bartail flathead is found at depths between 20 and 200 m (66 and 656 ft) over sand and mud substrates, often close to reefs or seagrass beds, and the juveniles have been known to enter the freshwater reaches of rivers.