Elates ransonnettii

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth5–131 m
Water temperature24–29 °C
Best monthsJune and October
How commonCommon

About this species

The dwarf flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the Indo-Pacific. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Elates.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Dwarf flathead”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 15 records
March: 12 records
April: 4 records
May: 3 records
June: 35 records
July: 15 records
August: 20 records
September: 15 records
October: 47 records
November: 15 records
December: 19 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–131 m · Deepest record: 221 m

0–10 m: 21 records
10–20 m: 14 records
20–30 m: 10 records
30–40 m: 11 records
40–50 m: 12 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 5 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 16 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C

24–26 °C: 13 records
26–28 °C: 11 records
28–30 °C: 16 records

Names and classification

Other scientific names: Elates ransconnetti, Elates ransonetti, Elates ransonneti, Elates ransonnetii, Elates ransonnetti, Elates thompsoni, Elatis ransonnetti, Hyalorhynchus pellucidus, Platycephalus ransonnetii, Platycephalus ransonnettii

Similar species

Japanese Flathead
Inegocia japonica
Crocodile fish
Cymbacephalus beauforti
Black-freckled Flathead
Cymbacephalus nematophthalmus
Longsnout flathead
Thysanophrys chiltonae
Mud Flathead
Ambiserrula jugosa
crocodile flathead
Cociella crocodilus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
336 open-data records from 1876 to 2021.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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