batfish
Platax orbicularis (Forsskål, 1775)
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.
Orbicular (round body) batfish (Platax orbicularis), Red Sea, Egypt. It belongs to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific but has been recorded outside its native range in the western Atlantic Ocean. The adult can reach a total length of 40 centimetres (16 in).
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The orbicular batfish (Platax orbicularis), also known as the cooper batfish, circular batfish, orbiculate batfish, round batfish, narrow-banded batfish or orbic batfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific but has been recorded outside its native range in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Wikipedia contributors, Orbicular batfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:26:29.810226+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Platax orbicularis (Forsskål, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Forsskål, 1775)
- Common name
- batfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Acanthuriformes
- Family
- Ephippidae
- Genus
- Platax
- 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
- orderAcanthuriformes
- familyEphippidae Bleeker, 1859
- genusPlatax Cuvier, 1816
- speciesPlatax orbicularis (Forsskål, 1775)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Platax. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Platax boersii Bleeker, 1853 | EphippidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| humpback batfishPlatax batavianus Cuvier, 1831 | EphippidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dusky batfishPlatax pinnatus (Linnaeus, 1758) | EphippidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longfin baitfishPlatax teira (Forsskål, 1775) | EphippidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Platax blochii Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Platax ehrenbergii Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Platax obricularis (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Platax orbicularius (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Platax vespertilio (Bloch, 1787) (Bloch, 1787) | synonym |
| Platax albipunctatus Rüppell, 1829 Rüppell, 1829 | synonym |
| Chaetodon orbicularis Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Chaetodon vespertilio Bloch, 1787 Bloch, 1787 | synonym |
| Platax guttulatuas Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Platax guttulatus Cuvier, 1831 Cuvier, 1831 | synonym |
| Platax orbicularia (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | 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=218711 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:4JN5Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.