Fish
Bartail Flathead
Platycephalus indicus
A cryptic, sand-coloured ambush predator with a broad flattened head and a barred tail, lying half-buried on estuarine and coastal flats.
Also known as balkstert
- Habitat
- Sand and mud flats, estuaries
The bartail flathead has the flattened, spade-shaped head and long tapering body typical of its family, with eyes set high for watching the water above. Sandy-brown mottling lets it vanish against the bottom, and its tail carries the dark barring that gives it its name.
It lies motionless, often partly buried, on sand and mud in estuaries and shallow coastal waters, ambushing small fish and crustaceans that stray within range. It is a wide-ranging Indo-Pacific species.