Dusky batfish

Platax pinnatus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth30–56 m
Water temperature21–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

Platax pinnatus, also known as the longfin batfish, pinnate spadefish, pinnate batfish, pinnatus batfish, dusky batfish, shaded batfish, or red-faced batfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the western Pacific Ocean and occasionally is kept in marine aquariums.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Platax pinnatus”, 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: 2 records
February: 3 records
March: 6 records
April: 6 records
May: 1 records
June: 32 records
July: 37 records
August: 35 records
September: 139 records
October: 60 records
November: 163 records
December: 10 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 30–56 m · Deepest record: 96 m

0–10 m: 11 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 10 records
30–40 m: 140 records
40–50 m: 177 records
50–60 m: 88 records
60–70 m: 14 records
70–80 m: 6 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–29 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 8 records
26–28 °C: 289 records
28–30 °C: 23 records

Names and classification

English: Dusky batfish, Batfish, Butterfly-fish, dusky batfish, Leaf-fish, Longfin Batfish, Long-finned Batfish, Pinnate Batfish, Pinnate Spadefish, Seabat, Shaded Batfish, spadefish, Sunfish, Turbot

Names in 8 more languages

German: Spitzkopf-Fledermausfisch
Spanish: Paguala de aleta larga
Filipino: Bunak
French: Platax à nageoires jaunes, Platax ombré à nageoires jaunes
Japanese: Akakukuri, アカククリ
Korean: 제비활치
Thai: ปลาหูช้าง
Simplified Chinese: 彎鰭燕魚

Other scientific names: Chaetodon pinnatus

Similar species

Batfish
Platax orbicularis
Longfin baitfish
Platax teira
Platax boersii

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).
771 open-data records from 1920 to 2023.

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