Batfish
Halieutaea stellata
- Usual depth96–395 m
- Water temperature17–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, June, and October
- How commonRare
About this species
The starry handfish, starry seabat or minipizza batfish, is species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep-sea batfishes or seabats. This fish is found on the continental shelves of the Indo-Pacific oceans at depths of between 50 and 400 m. They are up to 30 cm long.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Starry handfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 7 records
- February: 3 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 7 records
- May: 11 records
- June: 17 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 12 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 96–395 m · Deepest record: 725 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Batfish, Starry handfish, Minipizza Batfish, Round Batfish, Starry Seabat, stellate seabat
Names in 3 more languages
- Japanese
- アカグツ
- Thai
- ปลากบหนามลายดาว
- Simplified Chinese
- 棘茄魚, 死囝仔魚
Other scientific names: Halieutaea maoria, Halieutaea stallata, Halieutea stellata, Halieutea stellatus, Lophius stellatus
Similar species
- Scarlet Seabat
Halieutaea coccinea
- Smoky Seabat
Halieutaea fumosa
- Indian Seabat
Halieutaea indica
- Black Seabat
Halieutaea nigra
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).
- 223 open-data records from 1797 to 2025.
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