Scientific Name
Halieutaea stellata  
Pronounce  
Halieutaea stellata棘茄魚
by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author (Vahl, 1797) Depth 50 - 400M
Chinese 棘茄魚 Poisonous Fish No 
Family_Chinese 蝙蝠魚科 Economic Fish No 
Family F233 Ogcocephalidae Edible Fish No  Chinese In Mainland China 棘茄魚 
Max Length 30 cm  Aquarium Fish No  Common Name 棘茄魚、死囝仔魚(澎湖) 
Distribution in World India Ocean to West Pacific Ocean   Distribution in Taiwan East、West 
Habitats Deep Sea、Benthos、Coastal  Holotype Locality China 
Synonyms Halieutaea maoria, Halieutaea stallata, Lophius stellatus   
Reference   Vahl, M. 1797 沈世傑 1984 Lee, S.-C. 1988 沈世傑 編 Shih-Chieh Shen ed. 1993 Nakabo T. 2002 
Specimen List ASIZP0056118. ASIZP0060051. ASIZP0061138. ASIZP0061492. ASIZP0062548. ASIZP0062550. ASIZP0062551. ASIZP0062589. ASIZP0062590. ASIZP0063553. ASIZP0064430. ASIZP0064546. ASIZP0064550. ASIZP0065479. ASIZP0065489. ASIZP0067778. ASIZP0070149. ASIZP0070153. ASIZP0070176. ASIZP0070234. ASIZP0072179. ASIZP0073865. ASIZP0074779. ASIZP0080603. ASIZP0803539. ASIZP0900378. ASIZP0913539. ASIZP0916361. BPBMI23155. FRIP00516. FRIP01051. FRIP03070. NMMBP01113. NMMBP02871. NMMBP03552. NMMBP03716. NMMBP04302. ...List all 67 records... 
Common Name Starry handfish 
Redlist Status NL Not in IUCN Redlist     
Characteristic Dorsal fin rays 4; anal fin rays 4; pectoral fin rays 13; pelvic fin rays 5; caudal fin rays 9. Body depressed with a broad circular disk and a tail shorter than disk; head slightly convex in front; mouth large, anteriorly to head; rostrum not project over front of disk, esca visible from above; esca with two not well-separated ventral lobes and a dorsal flap, thin fringe present on entire ventral edge of esca; gill 2 1/2; dorsal surface covered with stout and simple spines, most have more four roots; disk edge including tail spines divided into 3-5 sharp point; dorsal surface covered with dermal spinules between tubercles; ventral surface covered with numerous dermal spinules; interorbit space broader than eye diameter; pinkish to reddish in color; with numerous dark spots arranging in irregular pattern; dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fin with black edge or not.
habitats Habits in the marine bathydemersal. They are awkward, walking on the bottom on their large armlike pectoral fins and smaller pelvic fins. 
Distribution Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific Ocaens. It is a very common species around Taiwan. 
Utility No commercial value.