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Zabidius novemaculeatus

(Ninespine Batfish, Short-Finned Batfish)

Overview:

Family: Spadefishes, batfishes and scats; Inhabits coastal reefs.

Taxonomy

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  • Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
    • Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
      • Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
        • Branch: Deuterostomia Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
          • Infrakingdom: Chordonia (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
            • Phylum: Chordata Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
              • Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
                • Infraphylum: Gnathostomata auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
                  • Superclass: Osteichthyes Huxley, 1880 - Bony Fishes
                    • Class: Actinopterygii Cope 1887 - Ray-Finned Fishes
                      • Order: Perciformes - Perch-like Fishes
                        • Suborder: Acanthuroidei - Surgeonfishes
                          • Family: Ephippidae - Spadefishes, Batfishes and Scats
                            • Genus: Zabidius (McCulloch, 1916)
                              • Specific name: novemaculeatus (McCulloch, 1916)
                                • Scientific name: Zabidius novemaculeatus (McCulloch, 1916)

Unambiguous Synonyms:

  1. Platax novemaculeatus McCulloch, 1916
  2. Zabidus novemaculeatus (McCulloch, 1916)

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 08-Dec-1994

Physical Description

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Family Ephippidae:

Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific; marine, rarely brackish. Anal fin with 3 spines. Compressed laterally and deep-bodied. Mouth small; vomer or palatines toothless; comblike series of large blunt gill rakers on first epibranchial. Omnivores of algae and small invertebrates. Thought to be pelagic spawners. Juveniles of Platax species are popular and unproblematic aquarium species, but grow very fast.

The family Ephippidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 7 genera and 20 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is labriform. Members of this family have been dated back to the lower Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name: Latin, ephippium = that is for putting on a horse, similar in shape to a depression of the sphenoid bone; 1841

Images:

Distribution

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Range and Population

Indo-Pacific: Indonesia to northwestern Australia.

Habitat

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Biome

Saltwater. Reef-associated.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Zabidius:

There are approximately 3 species and subspecies in this genus: Z. novaemaculeatus · Z. novemaculatus · Z. novemaculeatus (Ninespine Batfish)

Bibliography

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  • Allen, G.R. and R. Swainston (1988). The marine fishes of north-western Australia: a field guide for anglers and divers. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 201 pp.
  • Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991). World fishes important to North Americans. Exclusive of species from the continental waters of the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (
  • Seale, A. 1910 Descriptions of four new species of fishes from Bantayan Island, Philippine archipelago. Philipp. J. Sci. 5(2):115-119.

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

  • Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
  • Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 10, 2006.
  • FishBase
  • FishBase 2006.
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
  • McEachran, John (from FishBase).

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

  • Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: AIMS - Baited Remote Underwater Video Station (OBIS Australia)
  • Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: CSIRO Marine Data Warehouse (OBIS Australia)
  • OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums

Identifiers:

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Last Revised: May 16, 2008