Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater

Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater. Fish caught with a cast net from coastal waters of Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, October 2018. Length: 11.2 cm (4.4 inches).

Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos Area, Baja California Sur, February 2010. Length: 11.4 cm (4.5 inches).

Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos Area, Baja California Sur, March 2011. Length: 11.4 cm (4.5 inches).

Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos Area, Baja California Sur, May 2012. Length: 11.7 cm (4.6 inches).

The Roundel Batfish, Zalieutes elater, is a member of the Batfish or Ogcocephalidae Family, and is known in Mexico as murciélago biocelado. There are two species in the genus Zalieutes  found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Roundel Batfish has a very flattened body that is shaped as a rounded triangular disc. Their dorsal side is brown with a varying number of black-rimmed orange eye-like spots (ocelli) and their ventral surface is white. Their head is depressed and not elevated above the disc with a small mouth that opens at the front and they have a short fishing pole in a small cavity overhung by a cone-shaped rostrum that points straight ahead with an equal-sized cone flaring out on each side. Their gill rakers are modified to long thin plates and covered with teeth. Their body is covered with many denticles of varying sizes. Their tail is long with the underside covered with prickles and 2 rows of cones. Their pectoral fins are arm-like and well-separated from the body.

The Roundel Batfish is a benthic species that is found in inshore coastal waters over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths between 11 m (35 feet) and 250 m (825 feet). They reach a maximum of 17.0 cm (6.5 inches) in length. The Rondel Batfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Roundel Batfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Roundel Batfish is an easy identification as it is the only Batfish found in the Pacific Ocean.

From a conservation perspective the Roundel Batfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are caught as a by-catch of deep water shrimp trawlers and are normally discarded. They are of limited interest to most.