Tiger flathead
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-10-09
A spotted, large-toothed flathead of deeper south-east Australian water, usually a boat fish and endemic to Australia.
The tiger flathead is the deep-water flathead of south-eastern Australia, found only there: FishBase gives its range as Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales to Portland in Victoria, including Bass Strait and Tasmania.
Tasmania's fishing guide separates it from the other flatheads by three things. Its body is rounder; it is light brown or pinkish grey with orange-brown spots, sometimes with dark bands; and it has large canine teeth. It has no dark blotch on the lower part of the tail, and the lower spine on the gill cover is longer than the upper.
It lives both inshore and on the continental shelf, generally between ten and a hundred and sixty metres, and is usually caught in deeper offshore water, only occasionally by recreational fishers closer in. It is found all round Tasmania but is more commonly caught off the south and east coasts.
The scientific name needs a note. FishBase lists it as Platycephalus richardsoni; the Tasmanian government's guide uses Neoplatycephalus richardsoni. They are the same fish under an older and a newer genus.
The fish
Identification
No photograph of Tiger flathead has passed identity review yet, so none is shown. A photograph is published only once somebody has checked the animal in it against the diagnostic features described on this page.
- Scientific name
- Platycephalus richardsoni
- Family
- Platycephalidae
- Water
- Saltwater
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Regions
- Australia
- A rounder body than other flatheads, light brown or pinkish grey with orange-brown spots; dark bands may also be present.
- Large canine teeth, the feature Tasmania's guide gives for separating it from the other flatheads.
- No dark blotch on the lower part of the tail.
- The lower spine on the gill cover is longer than the upper one.
Size
- Typical
- Not given as a figure by the sources read
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 65 cm, 3 kg and an age of 12 years
Lifecycle and reproduction
A bottom-living fish of the continental shelf. FishBase records a depth range of 10 to 400 m, usually to 200 m, a maximum age of 12 years and medium resilience. The Tasmanian guide places it both inshore and on the shelf, generally between 10 and 160 m. Neither source read describes its early life.
Not described by either source read. FishBase's summary gives no spawning account for the species and the Tasmanian guide does not cover it, so this record makes no statement about when or where it breeds.
Feeding and senses
Not described directly by the sources read. The Tasmanian guide says it is taken with similar gear and techniques to those used for sand flathead, a bottom-feeding ambush fish, and its large canine teeth indicate a predator of other animals; beyond that the diet is not stated.
Not described by the sources read. What they establish is that it lives on the bottom in deeper water than the sand flathead, down to the outer shelf, where an angler presents a bait on the sea bed and not in mid-water.
Through the year
No seasonal pattern is given by the sources read. The Tasmanian guide lists it as open all year and describes where it is caught, not when.
Distribution
Southwest Pacific: Endemic to Australia, known only from Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales to Portland in Victoria, including Bass Strait and Tasmania
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
A boat-caught table fish of southern and eastern Tasmania. The state's regional fishing pages list it among the fish caught from a boat on the east coast and around the Tasman Peninsula, and its species page says it is usually caught in deeper offshore waters and only occasionally closer inshore.
Handling and returning
Tasmania's guide says flathead have good survival rates when handled correctly, depending on the hooks and techniques used. It gives no further detail for this species on the page read, and none is added here.
Safety and rules
More
Where to go next
Where it lives
- Inshore groundInshore and on the continental shelf, generally between ten and a hundred and sixty metres.
More fish
Not related to this page — just the rest of the section. There is little else joined to this subject yet, and a short page should still lead somewhere.
Sources and evidence
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Family, maximum size, depth range, environment, distribution and the IUCN assessment for Platycephalus richardsoni. FishBase records no IUCN assessment for this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Fishing Tasmania: guide to fish species, tiger flathead and King George whiting — Tasmanian Government (Fishing Tasmania) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: Identifying features of tiger flathead, its depth and habitat, that it is usually caught in deeper offshore waters, and where around Tasmania it is more commonly caught.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Why the 1 connections on this page are here, and the sources
Where it lives
Official guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Inshore ground
Tasmania's fishing guide places tiger flathead inshore and on the continental shelf, on the bottom.
- Fishing Tasmania: guide to fish species, tiger flathead and King George whiting — Tasmanian Government (Fishing Tasmania) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That tiger flathead are generally found both inshore and on the continental shelf between 10 and 160 metres.States this directlyPassage read and verified
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