Notes on two species of flat-heads (Platycephalidae:Pisces) from the trawl grounds of the south-west Coast of India

Abstract

Flat heads, members of the family Platycephalidae are known to be distributed in the seas and estuaries of the lndo-West Pacific region. Day (1878) has dealt with 7 species from Indian waters. Munro (1955) recorded 8 species from the Gulf of Mannar and coastal waters of Ceylon. Weber and De Beaufort (1962) have considered 21 valid species and 1 doubtful species from the Indo-Australian Archipelago of which at least 7 species are reported from the Indian waters. Rao (1966) added one more species P. bengalensis from the Bay of Bengal. Few of the species form a fairly significant element of the ground fish community along the south-west coast of India.