Platycephalus endrachtensis
Platycephalus endrachtensis, or the bar-tailed flathead, bar-tail flathead, flag-tail flathead, northern sand flathead, northern-flag tailed flathead, sand flathead, western estuary flathead, is a predatory fish in the family Platycephalidae. It is found from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, including in Australian and Indonesian waters up to deep over sand, at temperatures between . The maximum length of the species is , and its weight up to . A popular angling species, the specific epithet "endrachtensis" refers to Eendrachtsland, an early Dutch name for Australia, with the suffix "-ensis", meaning "place". Venomous spines are hazardous  for safe handling. Description. "Platycephalus endrachtensis" has a sandy pale brown to tan colouration for camouflage. It is recognised by the black spots on its tail. The species can be differentiated from the similar "P. australis" from the two dark horizontal bars on the caudal fin and the yellow blotch on the middle fin, and from "P. westraliae" by a triangular lappet above the upper iris. It is found from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, including in Australian and Indonesian waters up to deep over sand, at temperatures between . The maximum length of the species is , and  its weight up to . Unlike their relatives, they are not protandrous hermaphrodites. Behaviour. "P. endrachtensis" is harmless to humans, is normally seen on the ocean floor, and if provoked, will burst from the sand quickly and settle again nearby. Range and habitat. The species ranges in Australian waters from Hamelin Bay, Western Australia, to St Helens, Tasmania, with the type locality in Shark Bay; it spawns in the Swan River estuary from late spring to the start of autumn. It is also found in Indonesia. They can can be seen drifting on sand flats. Diet. The fish is an ambush  predator, altering its skin colouring by "arranging [its] pigments within chromatophores" ( A.J. Hirst, 2014) and feeds on fish and sometimes large benthic crustaceans. Relations to humans. The species is edible, with the advised range about , as any size bigger will cause harder and drier meat, and any smaller will contain too low levels of meat. They are protected in Australian waters, where it is illegal to keep specimens under 300mm, which males hardly reach. The fish is not overfished.