Halicmetus odysseus Prokofiev, 2020

Family:  Ogcocephalidae (Batfishes)
Max. size:  8 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 680 - 750 m
Distribution:  Western Pacific: South China Sea.
Diagnosis:  This species is without any body pigmentation in preserved specimens; with brownish peritoneum bearing rare large black melanophores; no bucklers (even small ones) on the dorsal (beyond the boundaries of the neurocranium) and ventral surfaces of the disc; with low blunted apices of bucklers along the edge of the disc and in the caudal region; acicular spines are with narrow bases with one or two points; with a notched upper edge of the illicial cavity, not projecting forward in profile; a short (about half the horizontal eye diameter) subopercular spine; moderate eye (7.5% SL) and a narrow interorbital space (5.6% SL); caudal section of the body constituting 42.5% SL; D without rays (Ref. 123832).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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