Platycephalus speculator Klunzinger, 1872
Southern bluespotted flathead
Platycephalus speculator
photo by Groeneveld, R.

Family:  Platycephalidae (Flatheads)
Max. size:  90 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; brackish; marine; depth range 1 - 30 m
Distribution:  Eastern Indian Ocean: known only from southern Australia, from Western Australia to Victoria and Tasmania. Large adults have been misidentified as Platycephalus fuscus, the common estuarine flathead of New South Wales and southern Queensland (Ref. 9563).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 8-9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-14; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 13-14; Vertebrae: 27-27. Adults have 3-5 large round black spots with white margins on the lower-half of the caudal fin.
Biology:  A shallow water species, recorded from surf beaches, estuaries and in bays (Ref. 9563).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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