How Well do you Know your Flathead?

Dusky Flathead 
​Platycephalus fuscus​

Spot the Dot on the Dusky

Dusky Flathead have different size and possession limits to other flathead species and are often misidentified.
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Distribution

• Cairns and further south
• Estuaries and coastal bays
• Found on sand, mud, gravel and seagrasses

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• ​​​​Top of body varies from dark greenish-brown to pale fawn to mid brown. Under surface of head is pale pink.​
• ​Pectoral fins are densely spotted with brown, and there is a large dark blotch on tail.
• 40cm min take size, 75cm max
• Possession limit of 5 (not included in combined limit for all other flathead)

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Bartailed Flathead
Platycephalus australis

Distribution

• Mud and sand along the length of the Queensland coast
• Shallow coastal waters and estuaries

• Top of head and body is whitish and covered with small brown flecks
• Dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins have small brown spots on rays
• ​Two or three horizontal dark bars, and a prominent yellow blotch near the middle of the tail.
• 30cm min take size
• ​combined limit of 5 for all flathead (excluding Dusky)

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​Yellowtailed Flathead
Platycephalus westraliae

 Distribution

• ​ ​Along the Queensland coast to Brisbane
• Shallow coastal waters and estuaries
• Found on mud and sand​ ​​

• ​Head and body are whitish and covered with small brown flecks
• Dorsal, pectoral and pelvis fins have small brown spots on rays

​Features that distinguish yellowtailed flathead from bartail flathead:

• Tail is whitish with three or four horizontal dark bars 
• Prominent yellow blotch along upper​ section of the tail (bartail flathead have blotch in the middle of the tail)
• 30cm min take size
• combined limit of 5 for all flathead (excluding Dusky)

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Northern Sand Flathead
​Platycephalus endrachtensis

Distribution

• ​Along the Queensland coast
• Sandy beaches to a depth of 55m

• head and body is whitish with many small brown blotches
• small brown spots on dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins
• ​white tail with 5 or 6 horizontal streaks that narrow toward the top
• No dots or yellow patches on tail
• 30cm min take size​
• combined limit of 5 for all flathead (excluding Dusky)

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For the full list of possession and size limits in Queensland, go to 
​www.fisheries.qld.gov.au