Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Crocodilefish

Platycephalidae

Description:

Platycephalids are small to medium-sized fish. Most species are small, reaching an average of 10 cm in length. However, a few species in the genus Platycephalus are known to grow up to a meter in length. Their most distinctive characteristic is the flattened shape of their heads. While the rest of their bodies is shaped similarly to other fish that inhabit the areas they frequent, their heads are triangle-shaped and dorsoventrally depressed, giving them the shape of a trowel or an artist's spatula. Their eyes are situated on the upper surface, in accordance with their bottom-dwelling lifestyle. They possess two complete dorsal fins, the first one supported by six to 9 strong spines. A platycephalid Flatheads are carnivorous, feeding on small fish and crustaceans. They lie in wait buried by sand, with only their eyes poking out from the substrate. When prospective prey walks or swims close to the platycephalid's head, the flathead strikes rapidly, engulfing the prey in its large mouth.

Habitat:

Flatheads are mostly marine demersal fish, often resting directly on the seabed, sometimes partially buried in sand or mud. They can be found in a wide range of depths, ranging from 10 m to the edge of the continental shelf at depths of about 300 m (980 ft).

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

2 Comments

Benno Ibold
Benno Ibold 10 years ago

Thank you Bhagya, I was in my archives and found this picture. May be I find some other nice shots with a little bit of quality because I only had a very simple under water camera.

Bhagya Herath
Bhagya Herath 10 years ago

wow!!!! awesome....

Benno Ibold
Spotted by
Benno Ibold

الغردقة, البحر الأحممر, Egypt

Spotted on Jul 12, 2006
Submitted on Aug 24, 2014

Related Spottings

Crocodile Fish Flathead Crocodilefish Flathead fish

Nearby Spottings

Cauliflower Jellyfish, Crowned Jellyfish Spotting Red Eared Slider Plumeria

Reference

Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team