Blackbanded Flathead, Rogadius patriciae Knapp 1987

Exmouth Gulf and the Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, to the Timor Sea northwest of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, and Torres Strait E of Cape York, to ESE of Lady Musgrave Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, west Pacific. Recorded internationally from Sulawesi, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Ryukyu Islands, Japan. 

Inhabits silty sand and rubble areas, sometimes near reefs, in bays and coastal waters at depths of 14-160 m.

Dorsal fin IX or I,VIII, 11-12 (usually 12); Anal fin 11-12 (usually 11); Pectoral fin 20-23 (usually 22); Pelvic fin I, 5; Lateral line scales (pored) 49-55 (usually 52 or 53).

Body elongate, moderately depressed. Head large (length ~43% SL), moderately depressed, lower side of head unicarinate; supraorbital ridge bearing many fine serrations; preorbital spine lacking, several small serrations present; preocular spine 1; eyes large (~27% HL), ocular flap absent; teeth on jaws low, on palate low, sharp and slightly recurved; teeth on vomer in two parallel longitudinal bands. Preopercular spines 2-5 (usually 3 or 4), uppermost longest, with an accessory spine on its base; antrorse spine short, weak, or absent; gill rakers 1, 5-7; interopercular flap absent. Scales small, finely ctenoid dorsally, cycloid ventrally, covering body and most of head behind eyes; oblique scale rows slanting backward above lateral line about equal to number of lateral-line scales; lateral-line scales 49-55 (usually 52 or 53), anterior 4-11 bearing a spine or ridge. scale pores of lateral line with 2 openings to the outside. First dorsal fin spinous, base almost as long as base of second dorsal fin, first spine very short, attached to second spine by a low membrane, following spines much longer. Second dorsal fin with moderately long base, anterior rays longest, nearly as long as longest first dorsal spines. Anal fin similar in shape, opposite and slightly longer-based than second dorsal fin. Caudal fin truncate to slightly rounded. Pectoral fins moderately elongate. Pelvic fins long, reaching to about anal fin origin.

Body and head brown dorsally, brown band crossing nape to preopercular spines, another wide band below eye; paler below. Outer half of spinous dorsal fin black; soft dorsal fin with 4-6 series of black checks. Anal fin whitish with dark horizontal band centrally, becoming black posteriorly. Caudal fin white with 2 or 3 elongate longitudinal black bands, upper lobe with oblique black bars and sometimes yellow tinting to white background; pectoral fin fawn with lower half dark olive, margin white; pelvic fins black with outer edge and ray tips white.

May be taken as bycatch in commercial trawls.

Rogadius patriciae Knapp, 1987, Mem. Natl. Mus. Vict. 48(1): North-West Shelf. (20°03'-04'S, 116°09'-10'E), 64 m.

Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO & Bray, D.J. 2017

Australian Faunal Directory