2013 Volume 18 Issue 2 Pages 183-192
The taxonomic status of Platycephalus grandispinis Cuvier, 1829 was investigated. Although the holotypes of P. grandispinis and Platycephalus longispinis Macleay, 1884 closely resemble each other, having several characters in common (e.g., 14 second dorsal and anal fin rays, ca. 80 lateral line scales, the interorbit much narrower than the orbital diameter, no distinct interopercular flap, the supraoccipital with a ridge, and the lower preopercular spine much longer than the upper), they differ in the development of the skinny sensory tubes of the preopercle, which are more numerous and better developed in the former. After a detailed examination of the two holotypes and specimens referable to P. grandispinis and P. longispinis from southwestern to southeastern Australia, it was determined that these two nominal species are synonyms. Furthermore, the skinny sensory tubes tend to become more well developed with growth and to show a geographic cline, such a cline in any feature being recognized in the Platycephalidae for the first time. A cline was also recognized in the suborbital width, with a tendency for a greater width in the western population than the eastern. This study provides a detailed redescription of P. grandispinis, which has priority over P. longispinis.
