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Family
Ogcocephalidae (Batfishes)
Species Currently in the DFL
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About This Family
Distribution:
Worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, except the Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat:
Usually demersal on sand or mud in depths 90-200 m, a few species found less than 90 m on rocks or reefs, known as deep as 4,000 m.
Anatomy
Kidneys lack glomeruli.
Remarks:
Batfishes have a large, depressed head disc which can be round or triangular when viewed from above. Just above the mouth is a movable lure (esca) at the end of a modified dorsal-fin spine (illicium) for attracting prey. The pectoral fins are on the posterior head disc and the small gill openings are in the pectoral-fin axils and are directed dorsally.
The maximum size of these fish is 25 cm. The diet is quite varied and consists of small molluscs, polychaetes, crustaceans, and occasionally fishes.
There are ten genera with 68 species.
References:
Bradbury, pp. 2023-2025, in: Carpenter & Niem 1999;
Bradbury, pp. 1054-1056, in: Carpenter 2002;
Nelson 2006