Olive-tail Flathead, Rogadius asper (Cuvier 1829)
Olive-tail Flathead, Rogadius asper (Cuvier 1829)
More Info
Distribution |
Continental shelf of northern Australia, from the North West Shelf, Western Australia east to Cape York. Possibly occurring on the Barrier Reef. Known from the Indo-west Pacific including southern Japan, East China Sea and the Philippines. Lives on sandy bottoms in bays and coastal waters to depths of 15-95 m. |
Features |
Dorsal fin IX, 10-11; Anal fin 11; Pectoral fin 21-23. Body elongate, moderately depressed. Head large, moderately depressed, lower side of head unicarinate; occipital ridge not serrated, bearing 4 spines; ocular flap absent. Teeth on jaws sharp and low; teeth on vomer in two parallel longitudinal bands; preopercular spines 4-5, uppermost longest, grading in size ventrally and ending with a strong antrorse spine. Interopercular flap absent. 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 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 small. |
Size |
To 17 cm. |
Colour |
Body and head light brown dorsally, 3 or 4 brown bands crossing back, nape white; paler below. Outer half of spinous dorsal fin black; soft dorsal fin with 4-6 series of brown checks. Anal fin whitish. Caudal fin cream, olive basally, olive centrally, dusky olive distally with white margin, with 3-5 irregular dark bands, or a basal dark band and randomly arranged dark spots posteriorly; pectoral fin faintly barred; pelvic fin crossed by 2-3 broken, broad, dark bars, whitish distally. |
Fisheries |
May be taken in bottom trawls. |
Conservation |
Not evaluated. |
Species Citation |
Platycephalus asper Cuvier, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Hist. Nat. Poiss. v. 4: Japan. |
Author |
Australian National Fish Collection & Bray, D.J. 2024 |
Resources |
Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes
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Olive-tail Flathead, Rogadius asper (Cuvier 1829)
References
Knapp, L.W. 1999 Family Platycephalidae, flatheads, pp. 2385-2421 in K.E. Carpenter & V.H. Niem (eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4: Bony Fishes Part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Imamura, H. (2007) Rogadius mcgroutheri, a new species of flathead (Teleostei: Platycephalidae) collected from eastern Australia and New Caledonia. Ichth. Res. 54: 303-307.
Nakabo, T. (2002) (ed.) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species, English edition. Tokai University Press. Fish. Japan Pict. Keys Species v. 1: 866 pp.
Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.C. (1985) Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra, C.S.I.R.O. Division of Fisheries Research, 375 pp.