Shortnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus

Shortnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus. Fish collected off the beach along the along the northwest corner of the Gulf of Mexico, March 2010. A significant loss of coloration of the fish is noted. Length: 30 cm (12 inches). Photographs courtesy of Clifton Northum.

Shortnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus. Fish caught from Barton Creek, Belize, October 2012. Length: 33 cm (13 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Shortnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus. Fish caught from Barton Creek, Belize, October 2012. Length: 33 cm (13 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

The Shortnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus nasutus, is a member of the Batfish or Ogcocephalidae Family, and is known in Mexico as murciélagos tapacaminos. Globally, there are sixty-four species in the family placed in ten genera of which all ten are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and nine in the Pacific Ocean. For the genus Ogcocephalus six species are found in Mexican waters, all in the Atlantic Ocean. All family members are demersal and they are specially-adapted fish. Most are found in very deep, lightless, global tropical waters at depths between 197 m (650 feet) and 1,000 m (3,300 feet).

The Shortnose Batfish has a flattened body that is shaped as a rounded triangular disc that is wider at the front and tapering at the tail. Their dorsal side varies in color from black to red-brown and can be uniform in color. Some fish have a network pattern on their head, shoulders, and tail base and the tip of their snout is dark. Their caudal fin is generally dark with a broad pale bar across its center and their pectoral fins have dark edges. Their depressed head has a pointed snout with a well-developed horn of variable length that normally points upwards, eyes on each side of the head, and a moderately-sized terminal mouth that opens at the front. Their anal and dorsal fins are small and found at the rear of the body; their pectoral and pelvic fins are limb-like with the pectoral fins being completely separated from the body; and, their pectoral fins have 12 or 13 rays. The back of their body is covered with large bucklers, conical spines and rough scales.

The Shortnose Batfish is a benthic species that is found in inshore coastal waters over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths up to 288 m (950 feet). They reach a maximum of 38 cm (15 inches) in length. They feed on crustaceans, fish, and polychaete worms and are known to release a fluid that acts as a chemical lure to attract prey. The Shortnose 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 Shortnose Batfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexican and the Caribbean.

The Shortnose Batfish can be confused with the Longnose Batfish, Ogcocephalus corniger (small stature; 10 or 11 pectoral rays), the Slantbrow Batfish, Ogcocephalus declivirostris (small stature; 10 or 11 pectoral rays), the Spotted Batfish, Ogcocephalus pantostictus (covered with small dark spots), and the Roughback Batfish, Ogcocephalus parvus (covered with dark spots).

From a conservation perspective the Shortnose 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.