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Halieutaea is a genus of marine Actinopterygii belonging to the family Ogcocephalidae, the deep sea batfishes. These fishes are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
The genus is in need of a taxonomic review as there are believed to be some undescribed species and some of the currently recognised species may be synonyms.
Characteristics
Halieutaea seabats have a flattened disc like head which has a clearly rounded outline. The esca has a tongue-shaped upper lobe and two nearly joined lower lobes with cirri on the lower edge. There is a black tongue-like
appendage at the base of the illicium. The snout does not overhang the mouth by too much. The teeth in the tongue are either arranged in paddle shaped patches which are set apart from each other or in a single oval patch. There are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. The scales are tubercles and of various sizes, the spaces between the scales are naked or covered in spinules.Theodore W Pietsch (2025). 9781990951299, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. . ISBN 9781990951299 These fishes vary in size between a maximum published total length of for H. retifera to for H. fitzsimonsi and H. stellata.
Distribution and habitat
Halieutaea seabats are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans from the eastern coast of Africa east to French Polynesia, north to Japan and south to Australia and northern New Zealand. These bathydemersal fishes are found at depths between .
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