Welcome to THEWALKINGBATFISH.COM.  This website is dedicated to fishes of the family Ogcocephalidae, known as batfishes to ichthyologists (fish scientists) or walking batfishes to those in the aquarium trade.  During my time as both a hobbyist and graduate student, I noticed a great lack of information about these fishes both in the aquarium trade and in science.  This website provides information on the biology of batfish species I studied and encountered during my time as a graduate student working on my Ph.D. as well as captive care tips based on my experience maintaining these fishes in home aquaria.  For more details on the information presented I suggest tracking down some of the listed references.   I hope that the information is of use to anyone interested in the biology or maintenance of these unusual fishes.  Questions or comments may be sent to drbatfish@hotmail.com.

Introduction to Batfish

    The batfishes (family Ogcocephalidae) are a poorly known group of fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes (anglerfishes).  Some of the better known members of the Lophiiformes are the goosefishes (monkfishes) (Lophiidae) and frogfishes (Antennariidae).  Batfishes are small (< 300mm) benthic fishes found worldwide in tropical to subtropical seas from the shoreline to about 3000 m, generally on continental shelves and slopes on flat, relatively open bottom habitats of rubble, sand, and mud.  Ten genera and sixty-eight species of batfishes are known worldwide (Bradbury 2003).  

    The head and body of these fishes form a flattened, broad disc which may be circular or triangular in shape when viewed from above.  Their pectoral and pelvic fins have become modified to act more like legs for walking on the seafloor rather than swimming.  This feature is reflected in the common name “walking batfishes” that is often applied to this group of fishes.  Their scales are modified into spiny tubercles and/or bucklers which make them bumpy and rough in appearance and to the touch.  These fishes also have a rostrum which can range from short and shelf-like to long and pointed depending on the genus, species, and/or age of the fish.  

    These fishes also have the illicium (fishing rod) and esca (bait) so distinctive of the anglerfish order.  In batfishes the lure is retracted beneath the rostrum when not in use.  The esca has been shown to be glandular in nature (Bradbury 1967, Combs 1973) and Combs (1973) suggested that a chemical attractant may be used to lure in prey.  Nagareda and Shenker (2009) provided experimental evidence for chemical luring of gastropod prey in Ogcocephalus cubifrons.  Batfishes primarily feed on small benthic invertebrates like gastropods (snails), crustaceans, and polychaete worms (Reid 1954, Randall 1967, Winans 1975, Gibran and Castro 1999, Nagareda 2005, Nagareda and Shenker 2008).  The graph below provides a general example of the diets of batfishes I studied.  A preliminary age analysis of batfishes suggested that like many other fishes, batfishes may be aged using their otoliths (inner ear bones) (Nagareda 2005).  The oldest specimens examined were 16 year old polka-dot batfish (Ogcocephalus cubifrons) while no pancake batfish (Halieutichthys aculeatus) examined were older than 2 years. 

Dietary analysis of three batfish species from the Gulf of Mexico (Nagareda 2005).

Bradbury, M.G.  1967.  The genera of batfishes (family Ogcocephalidae).  Copeia, 1967(2):399-422.

Bradbury, M.G. 1980.  A revision of the fish genus Ogcocephalus with descriptions of new species from the Western Atlantic Ocean (Ogcocephalidae; Lophiiformes). Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 42(7):229-285.

Bradbury, M.G.  2003.  Family Ogcocephalidae Jordan 1895 – batfishes.  Calif. Acad. Sci. Annotated Checklists of Fishes No. 17. 17 pp.

Bullis, H.R. and P.J. Struhsaker.  1970.  Fish fauna of the western Caribbean upper slope. Quart. J. Fla. Acad. Sci.  33:43-76.

Combs, C.L.  1973.  Structure and probable feeding function of the batfish esca.  [thesis].  Tallahassee, (FL): Florida State University. 88 p.

Gibran, F.Z. and R.M.C. Castro.  1999.  Activity, feeding behavior and diet of Ogcocephalus vespertilio in southern west Atlantic.  J. Fish Bio. 55: 588-595.

McEachran J.D., and J.D. Fechhelm.  1998.  Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes.  Austin: Univ. of Texas Press 1112 p.

Miller, J.M.  1965.  A trawl study of the shallow Gulf fishes near Port Aransas, Texas.  Pub. Inst. Mar. Sci. Univ. Tex.  10:80-107.

Nagareda, B.H.  2005.  Feeding biology and age structure of Atlantic batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae).  [dissertation].  Melbourne (FL): Florida Institute of Technology.  108 p.

Nagareda, B.H. and J.M. Shenker.  2008.  Dietary analysis of batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae) in the Gulf of Mexico.  Gulf of Mexico Science 2008(1):28-35.

Nagareda, B.H. and J.M. Shenker.  2009.  Evidence for chemical luring in the polka-dot batfish Ogcocephalus cubifrons (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae.   Florida Scientist 72(1):11-17.

Randall, J.E.  1967.  Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr., Miami, 5:665-847.

Reid, G.K.  1954.  An ecological study of the Gulf of Mexico fishes in the vicinity of Cedar Key, Florida.  Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb. 4(1):1-94.

Richards, W.J. and M.G. Bradbury.  1999.  Preliminary guide to the identification of the early life history stages of ogcocephalid fishes of the western central Atlantic.  NOAA Tech. Mem. NMFS-SEFSC-417, 6p.

Schleser, D.M.  1994.  Captive husbandry of batfish (family Ogcocephalidae).  Aquar. Front.  Spring: 27-29. 

Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott.  1988.  Atlantic Fishes of Canada.  Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219: 731p.

Winans, G.A.  1975.  Food habits of two sympatric batfishes (Ogcocephalidae) offshore Cape Canaveral, Florida. [thesis].  Melbourne (FL): Florida Institute of Technology.  27 p.