Spiked flat heads

Spiked flat heads
	Hoplichthys filamentosus
Systematics
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order :	Perch-like (Perciformes)
Subordination :	Platycephaloidei
Family :	Spiked flat heads
Genre :	Spiked flat heads
Scientific name of the family
	Hoplichthyidae
	Kaup , 1873
Scientific name of the genus
	Hoplichthys
	Cuvier , 1829

The spiny flat-headed ( Hoplichthys ), also called ghost flat-headed fish, are a genus of marine fish from the order of the perch-like (Perciformes).

features

Spiked flat heads have a body 7 to 43 centimeters long. It is elongated and extremely flattened. Its head, which is provided with spikes and bony ridges, is flat and very broad. The fish have no scales except for a row of spiky scales along the side line . A row of spines runs along the sides of the body. The first hard-rayed dorsal fin is short, the second soft-rayed and the anal fin are very long. The anal fin has no hard rays, those of the dorsal fin are thin. The first three to four rays of the pelvic fins are free. The gill openings are large.

Spiked flat heads live in the Indo-Pacific at depths of ten to 1500 meters on the sea floor.