Halieutichthys aculeatus (Mitchill 1818)

Pancake Batfish

Max. size: 100 mm (4in.)

Easily identified by: rounded disk, pectoral fin lobes connected to the tail by skin, reticular pattern on the dorsal surface, ventral surface of body naked.

Range and depth: North Carolina to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Cuba,  Venezuela, and the Bahamas in 0 - 421 meters (0 - 1389 feet) (Miller 1965, Bullis and Struhsaker 1970, McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Habitat: occurs on substrata consisting of hard sand and coral, sand and sandy clay, or sandy mud with shell debris (Richards and Bradbury 1999). 

Feeding: polychaete worms, small crustaceans (e.g. mysids), and small gastropods (Winans 1975, Nagareda 2005, Nagareda and Shenker 2008).

Other notes: It has long been known that most anglerfishes lay their eggs in gelatinous egg masses.  Batfish were assumed to do the same based on the form of their ovaries.  The egg mass in the photo was one of four released by a pancake batfish shortly after capture.




Ogcocephalus declivirostris Bradbury 1980

Slantbrow Batfish

Max. size: 137 mm (5.4 inches) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998)

Easily identified by: rostrum slopes downward (not upwards or horizontal) with respect to the long axis of the body, pectoral fins translucent and taper to a point (not rounded) (Bradbury 1980).

Range and depth: northern and western Gulf of Mexico in 3.5 – 180 meters (11.55 – 594 feet) with one specimen recorded from the Straits of Florida at 388 meters (1280.4 feet) (Bradbury 1980).

Feeding: primarily tiny gastropods, specifically Nassarius sp, and Cosmioconcha calliglypta (Nagareda 2005, Nagareda and Shenker 2008).

Dibranchus atlanticus (Peters 1876)

Atlantic Batfish

Max. size: 150 mm (5.9 inches) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Easily identified by: strong subopercular spine, large tubercles with multiple spines at apex.

Range and depth: Coast of Canada, USA, Gulf   of Mexico, South America (to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and Gulf of Guinea to Angola in 22–523 meters (72.6 – 1725.9 feet) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Feeding: Polychaete worms, amphipods, bivalves, gastropods (Scott and Scott 1988, Nagareda unpublished data).

Zalieutes mcgintyi (Fowler 1952)

Tricorn Batfish

Max. size: 100 mm (4 inches) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998)

Easily identified by: short rostrum bearing two lateral horns.

Range and depth: Florida to northern South America including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in 90 – 180 meters (297 – 594 feet) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Feeding: mysids, polychaetes, and stomatopods (Nagareda unpublished data).






Ogcocephalus corniger Bradbury 1980

Longnose Batfish

Max. size: 230 mm (9.1 inches) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Easily identified by: dorsal color pattern of small, pale spots uniformly distributed over a dark brown or grey body, bi-colored pectoral fins, long rostrum.

Range and depth: North Carolina to the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, northeast Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana, and the southern Gulf of Mexico off Yucatan in 29 – 230 meters (95.7 – 759 feet) (McEachran and Fechhelm 1998).

Ogcocephalus parvus Longley and Hildebrand 1940.

Roughback batfish

Max. size: 100 mm (4 inches)

Easily identified by: extremely rough, craggy, and broken body contour with prominent bucklers; low pectoral fin ray count of 10 – 11 rays.

Range and depth: Atlantic coast of the United States from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, south to the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the coast of South America to Recife, Brazil usually at 29-126 meters (95.7 – 415.8 feet) (Bradbury 1980).

Other notes: Bottom three pictured specimens were collected in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico outside the currently reported range for the species at the following coordinates: top specimen at 2742.51 – 2740.11^o N latitude and 9600.61 – 9600.66^o W longitude between 91.63 – 105.09 meters; bottom left specimen at 2740.07 – 2739.39 ^o N latitude and 9600.69 – 9600.83 ^o W longitude between 105.45 – 109.09 meters; and bottom right specimen at 2805.61N – 2804.30^o N latitude and 9450.37W – 9450.06^o W longitude between 54.55 – 63.64 meters.