''Platax'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, reef-associated fish belonging to the family

Ephippidae Ephippidae is a family containing the spadefishes, with about eight genera and a total of 20 marine species. Well-known species include the Atlantic spadefish (''Chaetodipterus faber'') and the reef-dwelling genus ''Platax'', the batfishes, whic ...

. There are currently five known

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species generally accepted to belong to the genus. They are one of the fish taxa commonly known as " batfish".

Description

Members of the genus ''Platax'' are generally similar in shape to the other species in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. Adults are rather disc-shaped fish, with laterally compressed bodies and large dorsal and anal fins that give individuals a somewhat triangular profile. ''

Platax teira ''Platax teira'', also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a fish from the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of in length. Descript ...

'' is the largest species, reaching lengths of around . The other species reach maximum lengths of around .

Distribution

''Platax'' can be found in reefs throughout the entire

region. Their range extends from the western Indian Ocean in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

to as far east as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Most ''Platax'' species can be found in higher latitudes, as high as the

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

Islands in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and as far south as the eastern coast of Australia. However, the ranges of the individual species is not consistent throughout the genus' range. ''

Platax pinnatus ''Platax pinnatus'', also known as the pinnate spadefish, pinnate batfish, pinnatus batfish, dusky batfish, shaded batfish, or red-faced batfish is a fish from the western Pacific that occasionally is kept in marine aquarium A marine aquarium ...

'' for example is most likely not found in the Indian Ocean. A few individuals have been found in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

waters. Apparently, the species ''

Platax orbicularis The orbicular batfish (''Platax orbicularis''), also known as the circular batfish, orbiculate batfish, round batfish, or orbic batfish is a popular aquarium fish which occurs naturally in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The ...

'' has been observed in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

waters as a non-native,

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. The

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

industry has been blamed for the spread of this species into the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. Members of the genus are most common around

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s and

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

Taxonomy

The genus was first used by

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

with the publication of his 1816 system of animal classification. He assigned the genus to the batfish species ''

Platax boersii ''Platax'' is a genus of Indo-Pacific, reef-associated fish belonging to the family Ephippidae. There are currently five known extant species generally accepted to belong to the genus. They are one of the fish taxa commonly known as " batfish". ...

'', a classification which still holds to this day. Another species to be assigned to the genus by Cuvier was '' Platax ocellatus'', a

butterflyfish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlant ...

that is now more correctly classified in the genus ''

Chaetodon ''Chaetodon'' is a tropical fish genus in the family Chaetodontidae. Like their relatives, they are known as "butterflyfish". This genus is by far the largest among the Chaetodontidae, with about 90 living species included here, though most migh ...

'' in Chaetodontidae. In the same work, a species that is now known to belong to the genus, ''

'' was classified by Cuvier in a different genus, ''Chaetodon teira''. A few species have been assigned to the genus that have since been reclassified into other

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. The butterflyfish, ''C. ocellatus'' mentioned above is one of these species. Another species that has been mistakenly classified as a ''Platax'' is the common freshwater angelfish, ''

Pterophyllum scalare ''Pterophyllum scalare'', most commonly referred to as angelfish or freshwater angelfish, is the most common species of ''Pterophyllum'' kept in captivity. It is native to the Amazon Basin in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. Particularly to the Ucayali ...

''. In a joint effort with

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, Cuvier published a natural history work in 1831 where the freshwater angelfish was classified as ''Platax scalaris''. The freshwater angelfish, of course is not as closely related to the marine batfish as to warrant classification in the same genus. A more scientifically acceptable mis-classification would be that of the species ''

Zabidius novemaculeatus ''Zabidius novemaculeatus'', the ninespine batfish or short-finned batfish, is a species of batfish native to coral reefs around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia at depths of from . This species grows to a length of TL and has been k ...

''. This species was first described as ''Platax novemaculeatus'' by Mcculloch when it was discovered from Australia in the early 1900s. The species is now classified in the genus ''

Zabidius ''Zabidius novemaculeatus'', the ninespine batfish or short-finned batfish, is a species of batfish native to coral reefs around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia at depths of from . This species grows to a length of TL and has been k ...

'', which is still in the same

as the genus ''Platax''. The generic name, "platax" was coined from the Greek term ''platys'' - meaning "flat". This refers to the generally compressed body shape of the fish. They are commonly called "batfish". However, they are not the only fish taxon called by this name. Fish from the only distantly related family Ogcocephalidae are also commonly known as "batfish". Other families with species that have been referred to as "batfish" include the families Dactylopteridae,

Drepaneidae ''Drepane'' is a genus of fishes known commonly as the sicklefishes. It is the only genus in the perciform fish family Drepaneidae. These fish occur in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, and in the eastern Atlantic near Africa. Species The ...

, Monacanthidae, and

Monodactylidae Monodactylidae is a family of perciform bony fish commonly referred to as monos, moonyfishes or fingerfishes. All are strongly laterally compressed with disc-shaped bodies and tall anal and dorsal fins. Unusually for fish, scales occur on their ...

Species

There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Platax batavianus''

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1831 (Humpback batfish) * ''

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Platax orbicularis The orbicular batfish (''Platax orbicularis''), also known as the circular batfish, orbiculate batfish, round batfish, or orbic batfish is a popular aquarium fish which occurs naturally in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Orbicular batfish) * ''

'' ( Linnaeus,

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (Dusky batfish) * ''

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Longfin batfish) There are also at least four fossil species known:Paleobiology Database
/ref> * '' Platax altissimus'' Agassiz, 1842 * '' Platax macropterygious'' Agassiz, 1842 * '' Platax papilio'' Agassiz, 1842 * '' Platax woodwardii'' Agassiz, 1842

References

External links

Batfish may come to Great Barrier Reef's rescue. NewScientist.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1425409 Ephippidae Extant Eocene first appearances Marine fish genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier