Fish Bits
Photos, visitors, weird and wonderful specimens, news from the field.
Batfish in Sydney Harbour
Sydney Harbour doesn't immediately spring to mind when you think of tropical fishes. That's why we were recently surprised to hear about juvenile Roundface Batfish that have been seen near Clifton Gardens and in Parsley Bay, in the outer harbour.
I was first alerted to the presence of one fish by Richard Vevers of Underwater Sydney on 15 April. Since then, a number of people have contacted me, including Henry Budd the Telegraph's Harbour Reporter.
Chris McDonald contacted me to say that three specimens are now swimming in warmer water at Sydney Aquarium.
The Roundface Batfish is a rare visitor to Sydney Harbour. The only other confirmed specimen from the harbour was caught near Manly Pier in 1976. It is now preserved in the Australian Museum Ichthyology Collection. Interestingly that fish was also seen in May.
Further reading:
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
- Tropical Nemo and his mates saved from a slow cold death (The Telegraph, 5 May 2011)
4 comments
No worries Lynda. We have just received another interesting comment about a recent juvenile batfish sighting in Sydney Harbour. See the comment on the Ephippidae - Batfishes page.
What a cool story Mark. Thnx for posting it!
Tags fishes, ichthyology, batfish, Roundface Batfish, Platax teira, Ephippidae,
Juvenile Roundface Batfish View full size
Richard Vevers
© Richard Vevers
Roundface Batfish, Platax teira View full size
John Johnstone
© John Johnstone
Roundface Batfish at Fish Rock View full size
Ákos Lumnitzer
© Ákos Lumnitzer
Hi Bob, Thank you for your great post. I had no idea that there had been a batfish at Parsley Bay for some time. It's excellent that you are documenting your sightings, but on the other hand a real shame that a good data set like yours doesn't have a public outlet through which information could be shared with others. I have been spending some time lately thinking along these lines and wondering how we could rectify the situation. Feel free to email me with follow-up thoughts or add additional comments.