| Ratabulus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Freespine Flathead (R. diversidens) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Platycephalidae |
| Genus: | Ratabulus D. S. Jordan & C. L. Hubbs, 1925 |
| Type species | |
| Thysanophrys megacephalus | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Ratabulus is a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Ratabulus was first formally proposed as a monotypic genus in 1924 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Carl Leavitt Hubbs with Thysanophrys megacephalus, which had been described in 1917 by Shigeho Tanaka from a type specimen obtained at a fish market in Tokyo, designated as its type species. [1] [2] This genus is classified within the family Playtcephalidae, the flatheads which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies within the suborder Platycephaloidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. [3]
Ratabulus did not have its etymology explained by Jordan and Hubbs, however, the name was also spelled as Rutabulus by them, likely to derive from rutabulum, which is a Latin word meaning shovel, an allusion to the shovel-nosed head of R. megacephalus. [4]
Ratabulus contains 10 species: [5] [2]
Ratabulus flatheads have two or more preopercular spines have at least 2 spines on the preoperculum, with the upper spine being the longest. There is no elongation of the upper lobe of the caudal fin with no elongated filament extending out from that fin. The first dorsal fin has between 8 or 9 spines. the second being equal in height to the third, while the second dorsal fin has no more than 12 soft rays. There are 2 separate patches of vomerine teeth. There are between 48 and 56 pored scales, each with 2 pores, on the lateral line with spines on the scales in the anterior portion of that line. The diagonal rows of scales run downwards and backwards over lateral line and the number of these rows is roughly about equal to the number of scales in the lateral line, typically with a difference of only 1 or 2 scales. The canine-like teeth in the jaws are depressible. There are 3 or more spines below the eye on a suborbital ridge and the lappet on the iris is pointed. [6] The maximum length attained by these fishes varies from a standard length of 12.5 cm (4.9 in) in R. humerosus to 39.1 cm (15.4 in) in R. diversidens. [5]
Ratabulus flatheads are found in the far east of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. [5] One species, R. prionotus, has moved through the Suez Canal to be recorded as a Lessepsian migrant in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. [7]
Platycephalus is a genus of mostly marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. They are found in the eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.
The tentacled flathead, also known as the Indian Ocean crocodilefish, Madagascar flathead or longhead flathead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is in the western Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Papilloculiceps.
Bembridae, the deep-water flatheads, are a family of bottom-dwelling ray-finned fishes. They are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Bembras is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Brachybembras is monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Bembridae, the deepwater flatheads. Its only species, Brachybembras aschemeieri, is known only from the Pacific Ocean around the Philippines where it is found at a depth of around 582 metres (1,909 ft).
Platycephaloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes, part of the order Scorpaeniformes, and includes the flatheads, ghost flatheads and sea robins.
Hoplichthys, the ghost flatheads, is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This genus is the only member of the family Hoplichthyidae.
Cociella is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Cymbacephalus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Grammoplites is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Onigocia is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Rogadius is a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Insidiator is a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.
Sunagociais a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Thysanophrys is a genus of marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
The crocodile flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.
Cociella martingomoni is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the Andaman Sea.
Cociella somaliensis is a species of demersal, marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. It is found in the north western Indian Ocean.
The halfspined flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is found in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
The tuberculated flathead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is found in Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.