Platycephalus was first proposed as a genus in 1795 by the German
physician and
naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch with
Callionymus indicus, which had been
described in 1748 by
Carl Linnaeus from "Asia", as its
type species.
Etymology The genus name
Platycephalus means "flat head" an allusion to the wide flattened head of these fishes which leads to the English common name flathead.
Species There are currently 19 recognised species in this genus: •
Platycephalus angustus Steindachner, 1866 (Steindachner's flathead) •
Platycephalus aurimaculatus L. W. Knapp, 1987 (Toothy flathead) •
Platycephalus australis Imamura, 2015 (Australian bartail flathead) •
Platycephalus bassensis Cuvier, 1829 (Sand flathead) •
Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus McCulloch, 1922 (Blue-spotted flathead) •
Platycephalus chauliodous L. W. Knapp, 1991 (Big-tooth flathead) •
Platycephalus conatus Waite & McCulloch, 1915 (Deep-water flathead) •
Platycephalus cultellatus J. Richardson, 1846 •
Platycephalus endrachtensis Quoy &
Gaimard, 1825 (Yellow-tail flathead) •
Platycephalus fuscus Cuvier, 1829 (Dusky flathead) •
Platycephalus grandispinis Cuvier, 1829 (Long-spined flathead) •
Platycephalus indicus (
Linnaeus,
1758) (Bar-tail flathead) •
Platycephalus laevigatus Cuvier, 1829 (Black flathead) •
Platycephalus marmoratus Stead, 1908 (Marbled flathead) •
Platycephalus micracanthus Sauvage, 1873 •
Platycephalus orbitalis Imamura & L. W. Knapp, 2009 (Western Australian flathead) •
Platycephalus richardsoni Castelnau, 1872 (Tiger flathead) •
Platycephalus speculator Klunzinger, 1872 (Southern bluespotted flathead) •
Platycephalus westraliae (
Whitley, 1938) ==Characteristics==