New records of the Longfin Batfish, Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) (Acanthuriformes, Ephippidae), from Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, Mexico

Check List 22(2): 343-349, doi: 10.15560/22.2.343

New records of the Longfin Batfish, Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) (Acanthuriformes, Ephippidae), from Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, Mexico

Claudia Rebeca Navarrete-Torices^‡, Litzy Maritssa Cruz-Cárdenas^§, David Petatán-Ramírez^§

‡ CEDO Intercultural, Sonora, Mexico§ Departamento de Oceanología, Instituto Politécnico Nacional – Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, La Paz, Mexico

Corresponding author: Litzy Maritssa Cruz-Cárdenas ( lcruzc2500@alumno.ipn.mx )

Academic editor: Arturo Angulo

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Navarrete-Torices CR, Cruz-Cárdenas LM, Petatán-Ramírez D (2026) New records of the Longfin Batfish, Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) (Acanthuriformes, Ephippidae), from Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, Mexico. Check List 22(2): 343-349. https://doi.org/10.15560/22.2.343

Abstract

Platax teira (Forsskål, 1775) is documented for the first time in Guerrero, Mexico. Juveniles and subadults were recorded at the Fandango shipwreck and on rocky reefs near Zihuatanejo based on citizen-science and our own direct observations between December 2024 and January 2026. These findings confirm an expansion of its distribution in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. The presence of this species at different life stages and its recurrence suggest potential establishment, highlighting the importance of monitoring this non-native species to understand its ecological impact on reef communities along the Mexican coast.

Keywords

Citizen science, distribution, non-native species, potential establishment