''Platycephalus bassensis'' the Southern sand flathead, Bass flathead, bay flathead, common flathead, sand flathead, sandy, sandy flathead, slimy flathead or ''yanks'', is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family

Platycephalidae The Platycephalidae are a family of marine fish, most commonly referred to as flatheads. They are relatives of the popular lionfish, belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. Taxonomy Platycephalidae was first proposed as a family in 1839 by the E ...

, the flatheads. It is endemic to Australia.

Taxonomy

''Platycephalus bassensis'' was first formally described in 1829 by the French zoologist

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

in volume 4 of the ''Histoire naturelle des poissons'' which he co-wrote with

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...

. Cuvier gave the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

as Western Port in Victoria. The specific name ''bassensis'' refers to the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

which the type locality is part of.

Description

''Platycephalus bassensis'' has and elongated and slightly flattened body with a large, flattened head which is just under one-third of the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

and which has two clear bony ridges to the rear of the eye. The eyes are large and have a small lappet on the iris. It has a large mouth with small canine like teeth in the jaws and a broad patch of vomerine teeth with a thin band of palatine teeth. There are twp robust spines on the angle of the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

with lower spine being around two times longer than the upper spine. The first dorsal fin is short based, has 8 or 9 spines with the first spine being very short and is separate. The second dorsal fin has a moderately long base with 13 or 14, typically 14, soft rays with the first rays being the longest. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has a similar shape and is opposite the second dorsal fin, has a slightly longer base and contains 14 soft rays. The caudal fin is truncate. This species has a maximum published total length of and a maximum published weight of at least . The overall colour is sandy to pale brownish with a scattering of small pale to dark spots. There are 2 or 3 vague bands posteriorly along the back and a whitish belly. There is an irregular blotch on the lower lobe of the caudal fin which is frequently interrupted by the pale fin rays, the upper lobe is marked with large brown spots or blotches.

Distribution and habitat

''Platycephalus bassensis'' is endemic to southern Australia where it occurs from northern New South Wales to southwestern Western Australia, including around Tasmania. However, some authorities state that records west of the

Great Australia Bight Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

are misidentifications of '' P. westraliae. This species occurs on sandy, muddy or shelly substrates in shallow coastal bays down to depths of around .

Biology

Diet

''Platycephalus bassensis'' is an ambush predator which buries itself in the sediment feeding on fishes and large benthic crustaceans.

Reproduction

''Platycephalus bassensis'' has separate sexes and external fertilisation with spawning taking place in the late Austral winter up to mid December. The eggs and larvae are pelagic, the larvae settle on the bottom and then grow rapidly for their first 3 years, attaining a total length of .

Fisheries

''Platycephalus bassensis'' is taken by commercial trawlers and Danish seiners offshore as well as by gillnet, beach seine and hook and line inshore. although the catch is not large It is a popular recreational quarry for anglers in estuarine and sheltered inshore waters in Victoria and Tasmania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2063296 Fish of Australia bassensis Fish described in 1829 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier