Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Zainal Abidin, Danial Hariz, Lavoué, Sébastien, Mohd Abu Hassan Alshari, Norli Fauzani, Mohd. Nor, Siti Azizah, A. Rahim, Masazurah & Mohammed Akib, Noor Adelyna, 2021, Ichthyofauna of Sungai Merbok Mangrove Forest Reserve, northwest Peninsular Malaysia, and its adjacent marine waters, Check List 17 (2), pp. 601-631 : 625-626

Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Material examined. MALAYSIA • 1, 225 mm TL; Kedah State, Merbok, Pompang Sungai Merbok ; 05.664°N, 100.381°E; 6 Dec. 2018; Danial H. Zainal Abidin, Norli F.M.A.H. Alshari leg.; USMFC (56) 00007 .

Identification. Maximum TL about 1000 mm ( Froese and Pauly 2020). Body elongate, dorso-ventrally compressed, head flattened with eye partially directed up- ward; mouth large prognathous; teeth on vomer in one slender transverse band; preopercular spines 2, lower spine longest; spinous and soft dorsal fins well separated; body brownish ventrally whitish, caudal fin with few

irregular alternate black and white stripes and a large central yellow ocellus.

Platycephalus indicus can be separated from G. scaber by the presence of only one transverse band of teeth on vomer, the absence of spines on lateral lines and the characteristic caudal marking pattern. Platycephalus indicus is a common coastal species in this region which often enters brackish environments (e.g., Tongnunui et al 2002).