Tuberculate Flathead, Sorsogona tuberculata (Cuvier 1829)
Sorsogonia tuberculata. Source: John E. Randall. License: CC BY NC-SA/3.0
Some workers refer to this species as Rogadius tuberculatus.
Tuberculate Flathead, Sorsogona tuberculata (Cuvier 1829)
More Info
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Distribution |
Continental shelf of northern Australia, from Dampier, Western Australia, to Moreton Bay, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the Indo-west Pacific, from the Persian Gulf to Indonesia, the Philippines and northern Australia. Inhabits sandy and muddy areas in bays and coastal waters to a depth of about 80 m. |
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Features |
Meristic counts: Dorsal fin IX or VIII, 14; Anal fin 10-12 (mostly 11); Pectoral fin 19-22 (usually 21); Pelvic fin I, 5; Lateral line scales (pored) 47-54 (usually 51 or 52). Body elongate, slightly depressed. Head large (length ~41% SL), moderately depressed; supraorbital and suborbital ridges bearing small spines or serrae (some bicuspid); eyes large (~10% HL); preocular spines 2-6; teeth on vomer in two separate patches. Preopercular spines 4 to 9, decreasing in size ventrally, upper with accessory spine on base; interopercular flap absent; gill rakers on lower limb of first arch rudimentary, stumpy rather than long and slender, total rakers on first arch 7-9 (usually 8). Scales small, finely ctenoid dorsally, cycloid ventrally, posterior edge of breast scales elongated; scales in rows above anterior lateral line sometimes bearing a hook or tubercle. Oblique scale rows slanting backward above lateral line about equal to number of lateral-line scales. Lateral-line scales 47 to 54 (usually 51 or 52), anterior 12 to 28 bearing a small spine or ridge. First dorsal fin spinous with short base, first spine very short, detached, 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 slightly rounded. Pectoral fins moderately elongate. Pelvic fins long, reaching past anal fin origin. |
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Size |
Maximum length at least 15 cm TL, commonly to 12 cm TL. |
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Colour |
Tan or light olive dorsally with 3 or 4 dark bands crossing back, whitish below. Caudal fin whitish with faint brown spots and bars; pectoral and pelvic fins with several black bands, margins whitish; dorsal fins white, barred with brown checks along spines and rays and extending onto fin membrane. |
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Feeding |
Feeds mostly on shrimps, molluscs, fishes, crabs and their larvae. |
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Fisheries |
Commonly taken in trawls. |
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Conservation |
Not evaluated. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin tuberculate (= tuberculate), in reference to the bony tubercles on the scales on the operculum and top of the head. |
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Species Citation |
Platycephalus tuberculatus Cuvier 1929, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 4: 258. Type locality:Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. |
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Author |
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research & Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Tuberculate Flathead, Sorsogona tuberculata (Cuvier 1829)
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.
Beaufort, L.F., De & Briggs, J.C. 1962. The Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. XI. Brill, Leiden. 481 pp.
Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1829. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 4 518 pp. pls 72-99.
Herre, A.W. 1934. Notes on Fishes in the Zoological Museum of Stanford University. The fishes of the Herre Philippine Expedition of 1931. Hong Kong : The Newspaper Enterprise Vol. 1 106 pp. (described as Sorsogona serrulata, type locality Magallenes, Sorsogon Prov., Luzon, Philippines)
Imamura, H. 1996. Phylogeny of the family Platycephalidae and related taxa (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes). Species Diversity 1(2): 123-233
Imamura, H. 2007. Rogadius mcgroutheri, a new species of flathead (Teleostei: Platycephalidae) collected from eastern Australia and New Caledonia. Ichthyological Research 54: 303-307
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762
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 Platycepalidae. pp. 2385-2421 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.
Knapp, L.W. & Heemstra, P.C. 2011. Sorsogona humerosa, a new flathead fish (Scorpaeniformes: Platycephalidae) from the western Indian Ocean. Smithiana, Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity, Bulletin 13: 75-78
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
Motomura, H., Matsuura, K. & Khan, M. 2018. Sorsogona tuberculata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T46097741A46665154. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T46097741A46665154.en. Accessed on 01 October 2025.
Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.
Whitley, G.P. 1933. Studies in Ichthyology No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum 19(1): 60-112 figs 1-4 pls 11-15 (described as Suggrundus tuberculatus suggrundus, type locality Platypus Bay, Queensland)
