No photo available
Longfin batfish
Platax teira
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Longfin batfish
- Scientific
- Platax teira
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 70 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 3 to 25 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2018
Description
A tall, disc-shaped batfish, silvery with dark bars through the eye and behind the head and a black blotch on the belly in front of the anal fin. Juveniles have very long dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. Adults gather in groups, sometimes large schools, around reefs, channels and wrecks and often approach divers. They feed on plankton, algae and small invertebrates.
In the Maldives
A familiar sight to divers in the Maldives, often in groups in channels.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Platax-teira.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Platax_teira_340437649.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.