Halicmetus ruber

photo by Shao, K.T.

Family:	Ogcocephalidae (Batfishes)
Max. size:	9 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:	bathydemersal; marine; depth range 344 - 549 m
Distribution:	Indo-Pacific: Arabian and Andaman seas, Bay of Bengal, Japan, and the Philippines.
Diagnosis:	This species is without a distinct pattern on the body, but with an intensely pigmented region of nostrils and distal ends of the fins in preserved specimens, with a pigmented peritoneum; well-developed bucklers on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the disc, forming an M-shaped row on the dorsal surface, not homogeneous in size on the ventral one, larger in front of the bases of V; high pointed tops of bucklers along the edge of the disc and in the caudal region; acicular spines with wide bases and 1-2 tops (as an exception, 3); a bisinuate upper edge of the illicial cavity, clearly protruding forward in lateral view; a long subopercular spine directed laterally and distinctly backward; long (47.0-50.9% SL) caudal section of the body; moderately large eye (7.6-8.5% SL), and a narrow interorbital gap (4.9-5.7% SL); D no rays (Ref. 123832).
Biology:	Minimum depth from Ref. 58018.
IUCN Red List Status:	Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 13 August 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:	harmless
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