De Beaufort's flathead

Brown-headed Flathead ( Cymbacephalus beauforti )

The Brown-headed or brown cheek Flathead ( Cymbacephalus beauforti ) comes in shallow marine areas, at depths of one to twelve meters in the Philippines, Borneo, the Mentawai Islands, the Moluccas, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Palau and Yap and in the Ryukyu islands. He lives on sand, gravel or silt soils on seagrass beds, mangrove areas and between reefs.

Features

Juveniles are black, adult animals have a brown camouflage pattern. Characteristic of the style is, viewed from above concave shape of the sides of the head behind the eyes, which are characterized by pits. Specific type also has a brown belt on the cheeks. The Brown -cheeked Flathead is half a meter long. As all members of the family he is elongate, has a large flat head and a big mouth. The mouth but ends before the eye. The two front gill spines are short and equal in length. Two other spines are located under the eyes. About the eyes they carry ten to twelve short dermal papillae, some of which branched, others are unbranched.

Fins formula: Dorsal IX-X/11, Anal 11

Way of life

Brown -cheeked Flathead are predators, often buried in the sand lurking, on smaller fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and polychaetes. Their reproductive biology is unknown.