Flatscale Triangular Batfish, Malthopsis bulla Ho & Last 2021

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Bray, D.J. 2023, Malthopsis bulla in Fishes of Australia, accessed 02 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5576

Flatscale Triangular Batfish, Malthopsis bulla Ho & Last 2021

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Distribution	Off northern Australia between north of Port Hedland, Western Australia, and northeast of Cape Don, Arafura Sea, Northern Territory. Mostlyinhabits the continental shelf and upper slope at depths above 400 m.
Features	Dorsal fin 5-6; 11-13. Body disc flattened, with anterior portion of skull only slightly elevated above rest of disc; rostrum small, rostral spine very short, directed obliquely to vertically upward, length 3.9-7.6% SL. Orbit small; interorbital space broad; rostrum short; adpressed anal fin not reaching caudal-fin base. Bucklers on body uniformly flattened without sharp apices; large naked areas present on central region of dorsal disk; ventral surface of disk partly covered with large bucklers on thoracic region and smaller bucklers on belly; spinules absent on the interspaces between the bucklers of the ventral surface; subopercular buckler with an enlarged, anteriorly directed spine bearing spinelets along its margin.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin bulla (= knob) in reference to the flattened bucklers covering the entire body.
Species Citation	Malthopsis bulla Ho & Last 2021, Bulletin of Marine Science 97(1): 177, Figs. 6-7. Type locality: Northwest of Port Hedland, North-West Shelf, Western Australia, 18°12'S, 118°14'E, depth 269 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2023
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Flatscale Triangular Batfish, Malthopsis bulla Ho & Last 2021

References

Ho, H.-C. & Last, P.R. 2020. Review of the batfish genus Malthopsis from Australia (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae), with descriptions of five new species. Bulletin of Marine Science 97(1): 165-218. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2020.0037