tentacled flathead
Papilloculiceps longiceps (Cuvier, 1829)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Tentacled flathead, commonly known as crocodilefish (Papilloculiceps longiceps), Ras Muhammad National Park, Red Sea, Egypt. This species can be found in the western Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal. The tentacled flathead is a well camouflaged, ambush predator of fish and crustaceans and the maximum published total length for this species is 70 centimetres (28 in), although 50 centimetres (20 in) is more typical.
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The tentacled flathead (Papilloculiceps longiceps), also known as the Indian Ocean crocodilefish, Madagascar flathead or longhead flathead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. This species is in the western Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Papilloculiceps.
Wikipedia contributors, Tentacled flathead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:33:50.374000+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Papilloculiceps longiceps (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- tentacled flathead
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Platycephalidae
- Genus
- Papilloculiceps
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderScorpaenoidei
- familyPlatycephalidae Swainson, 1839
- genusPapilloculiceps Fowler & Steinitz, 1956
- speciesPapilloculiceps longiceps (Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Papilloculiceps grandidieri (Sauvage, 1873) (Sauvage, 1873) | synonym |
| Platycephalus papilloculus Fowler, 1935 Fowler, 1935 | synonym |
| Rogadius tentaculatus (Rüppell, 1838) (Rüppell, 1838) | synonym |
| Platycephalus grandidieri Sauvage, 1873 Sauvage, 1873 | synonym |
| Platycephalus longiceps Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Platycephalus tentaculatus Rüppell, 1838 Rüppell, 1838 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218145 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4CKXY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.