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Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead
Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus McCulloch, 1922
Tail of a 38 cm long Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead caught on hook and line off Harrington, New South Wales, December 2001.
Eastern Blue-spotted Flatheads. The fish in the foreground has a spinal deformity. View larger image.
The Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead can be recognised by its sandy colour, scattered blue spots, and the series of elongated dark blotches on the tail. The lower preopercular spine is distinctly longer than the upper.
The species grows to 68 cm in length.
It eats crustaceans and other fishes.
The Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead is found on sandy bottoms from shallow coastal bays and estuaries to well offshore. It is recorded from Moreton Bay, Queensland to Lakes Entrance, Victoria.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead is a commercial trawl species which is marketed in Australia under the name Blue-spotted Flathead. In different areas it has also been known as the Longnose(d) Flathead, Sand Flathead and Red Spotted Flathead.
The two lower images show two fish, one of which has a deformity of the backbone (more information on spinal deformities).These specimens were captured in Twofold Bay, New South Wales and photographed by the Far South Coast Fisheries Office, Eden. Fisheries Officer, M. Northan reported that he has seen a number of fish from this area with abnormalities, some of which have been above the legal capture size.
Related links
- View the dissection of an Eastern Blue-spotted Flathead
- View the Flatheads list
- View the family Platycephalidae list
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Tyler, J.C. 1970. Abnormal fin and vertebral growth structures in Plectognath fishes. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 122(4): 249-271.
- Yearsley, G.K., Last, P.R. & R.D. Ward. 1999. Australian Seafood Handbook, an identification guide to domestic species. CSIRO Marine Research. Pp. 461
