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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
| Batfishes
Family Ephippidae updated Feb 11 Where seen? The fishes with long fins are sometimes seen, in seagrass meadows, near reefs and at jetties on our Southern shores. What are batfishes? These fishes belong to Family Ephippidae. According to FishBase: the family has 7 genera and 20 species, found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Those recorded for Singapore belong to Platax sp. Features: The body is flattened sideways. The mouth is small. Adults are silvery and rather squarish. Hence their other common name of Spadefish. Juveniles may look very different in colour and pattern and have very elongated dorsal and anal fins. Those seen 12-15cm long usually with two dark bars, one through the eye, on an orange body. The species are difficult to distinguish without examination of small body parts. In some species, the juveniles are found with feather stars (Class Crinoidea). Others may lie on the side, floating in the water to mimic leaves or flat against the surface mimicking toxic flatworms. May be confused with the Silver moony (Family Monodactylidae). What do they eat? They feed on seaweeds and small animals. Human uses: Juvenile batfishes are often taken from the wild for the aquarium trade. Status and threats: None of our batfishes are listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Over-collection by hobbyists can also have an impact on local populations. |
 Pulau Semakau, May 07  |
 Tanah Merah, Aug 11 |
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Batfishes on Singapore shores
 Pulau Semakau, Aug 08 |
 Keppel Bay, Oct 09 |
 Pulau Semakau, Aug 11 |
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| Family
Ephippidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore. in red are those listed among the threatened animals of Singapore from Ng, P. K. L. & Y. C. Wee, 1994. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened Plants and Animals of Singapore.
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