Harris' Flathead, Inegocia harrisii (McCulloch 1914)
Harris' Flathead, Inegocia harrisii. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial
Harris' Flathead, Inegocia harrisii (McCulloch 1914)
More Info
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Distribution |
Continental shelf of northern Australia from the Bonaparte Archipelago, Western Australia, to Keppel Bay, Queensland; also Daru, western Papua New Guinea. The Inhabits sandy and muddy areas in bays and coastal waters at depths from about 7 to 65 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin I,VIII, 11; Anal fin 11; Caudal fin 15; Pectoral fin 22–25 (usually 22 or 24); Pelvic fin I, 5; Gill rakers 5-7 total first arch; Lateral line scales (pored) 51–54. Body elongate, moderately depressed. Head large (length 36–38% SL), moderately depressed, supraorbital ridge smooth anteriorly, with serrations over posterior half of eye; preorbital spine absent; a single preocular spine; suborbital ridge usually with 2 spines under eye and several more spines behind eye; Lower side of head bicarinate; ocular flap absent; teeth on jaws very small and sharp, teeth on vomer in two parallel longitudinal patches; preopercular spines usually 3, upper preopercular spine short, subequal with next; small accessory spine absent; interopercular flap absent. Scales small, finely ctenoid dorsally, cycloid ventrally, covering body and most of head behind eyes; Oblique scale rows slanting downward above lateral line closely approximate number of lateral-line scales. Lateral-line scales 51–54 (usually 52 or 53), anterior 6–36 scales bearing a small spine or ridge. First dorsal fin spinous with short base, first spine very short, connected by a low membrane to second, following spines much longer. Second dorsal fin base longer than first, 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 rounded. Pectoral fins moderately small. |
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Size |
Maximum total length about 24 cm, commonly to 20 cm TL. |
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Colour |
Head and body orange-brown or grey above with fine brown spots, whitish below, 2 brown bars below eye over cheek. Caudal fin brown with prominent elongate blotches; pectoral fins dusky, with brown spots forming vertical bands; pelvic fins dusky, with a few dark spots. |
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Fisheries |
Taken by trawls over sand and mud substrate. |
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Conservation |
Not evaluated |
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Species Citation |
Insidiator harrisii McCulloch, 1914, Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 2(3): 146, fig. 12, pl. 30(1). Type locality: Near Pine Peak, Queensland, Australia. |
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Author |
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research & Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Harris' Flathead, Inegocia harrisii (McCulloch 1914)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.
Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.
Imamura, H. 1996. Phylogeny of the family Platycephalidae and related taxa (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes). Species Diversity 1(2): 123-233
Imamura, H. 2010. A new species of the flathead genus Inegocia (Teleostei: Platycephalidae) from East Asia. Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science (Ser. A) Supplement No. 4: 21-29.
Imamura, H. & Hoese, D.F. 2023. Type status and taxonomic accounts for Ambiserrula jugosa (McCulloch 1914) and Inegocia harrisii (McCulloch 1914) (Scorpaeniformes: Platycephalidae). Ichthyological Research 71(2): 276-293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-023-00929-x
Imamura, H. & Yoshino, Y. 2009. Authorship and validity of two flatheads, Platycephalus japonicus and Platycephalus crocodilus (Teleostei: Platycephalidae). Ichthyological Research 56: 308-313. (as Inegocia japonica)
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Designation of a lectotype for the platycephalid fish Inegocia harrisii (McCulloch). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 620 (un-needed lectotype designation
Keenan, C.P. 1991. Phylogeny of Australian species of flatheads (Teleostei, Platycephalidae) as determined by allozyme electrophoresis. Journal of Fish Biology 39(Supplement A): 237-249
Knapp, L.W. 1999. Family Platycephalidae, flatheads, pp. 2385-2421 in K.E. Carpenter & Niem, V.H. (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.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293
Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp.
McCulloch, A.R. 1914. Report on some fishes obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour on the coasts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South and South-Western Australia. Part 2. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 2(3): 77-165 figs 1-15 pls 13-34 See ref at BHL
Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 6(1): 69-84
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. (as Suggrundus harrisii)
