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Size
27.5 inches (70 cm) -
Diet
Algae and a variety of invertebrates, such as jellies or other plankton -
Range
Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to Australia -
Habitat
Coastal lagoons out to seaward reefs and occasionally in deeper water offshore
Physical Characteristics
Size
- Adults grow to approximately 27.5 inches (70 cm) in length.
Body Composition
- The body is rounded and strongly compressed.
- Adult has a bony hump on the forehead and its dorsal and anal fins are high and arched, but in proportion to its body.
- The juvenile looks very different from the adult. It has a very short body with extremely tall dorsal and anal fins and does not have a forehead hump.
Color
- Coloration is yellowish silver or dusky in color and have a short dark vertical bar through the eye and another wider bar behind the operculum.
Animal Fact
Juvenile longfin batfish will mimic leaves for protection.
Diet / Feeding
- Feeds on algae and a variety of invertebrates, such as jellies or other plankton.
Range / Habitat
Range
- Longfin batfish occurs in the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to Australia.
Habitat
- Juveniles inhabit sea grass meadows, mangrove areas and floating sargassum weed beds in shallow protected inner reefs.
- Adult is usually found from coastal lagoons out to seaward reefs and occasionally in deeper water offshore.
- Longfin batfish is found most often at depths to 65 feet (20 m).
- Commonly encountered near a deep wreck, mainly in the mid-waters above it.
Conservation Status
- “Not Evaluated” on the IUCN Red List.
Additional Information
- Adult may be solitary or occasionally form large schools.
- Juveniles have been observed mimicking floating leaves in coastal waters. They also will form schools under floating rafts of sargassum.
- It is believed that this batfish spawns in the open ocean and its larvae transform into the tall juvenile when it is less than an inch (25 mm) long.
- Another common name for this fish is “teira batfish.”
Sources
- www.fishbase.org
- Coral Sea Reef Guide. Halstead, B.
- Southeast Asia Tropical Fish Guide. Kuiter, R. H. and Debelius, H.