The fishes of the family Platycephalidae are restricted (excluding one species each in the Atlanctic and Mediterranean, see Knapp, 1981) to the Indo-Pacific, represented by a total of about 70 valid species. A personal of the literature on the taxonomy shows that excepting a few instances (e.g. matsubara and Ochiai, 1955; De Beaufort and Briggs, 1962; Schultz, 1966; Murthy, 1982; Knapp 1973, 1987), attention has not been paid either to examine adequate number of specimens or to study the important characters (e.g. the ridges on head) that provide the basis for distinguishing genera/species in the family. As is well known, the earlier authors, particularly the original authors, did not provide adequate descriptions of the species in most cases. Further, several genera were erected on inadequate grounds. Consequently, some authors preferred to include all the species under a single genus: Platycephalus (e.g. de Beaufort and Briggs, 1962; Talwar and Kacker, 1984) while in several instances the species were assigned to genera with uncertainly.
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