Polka-dot Batfish

Ogcocephalus cubifrons has a flattened head, although this is higher than the rest of the triangular disk, with a pointed snout, thinner and longer in juveniles and becoming a short and upwardly directed knob in large adults. The head of adults are very large. The eyes are laterally positioned on the head. The esca, or lure, has 3 fleshy points which is retracted into the illicial cavity under the rostrum. There is a blunt, poorly developed, simple spine on the lower, posterior angle of the operculum. The gill rakers are oval shaped plates which are covered in small teeth and the gill openings are small, opening behind the upper base of the pectoral fin, this fin and the pelvic fin's are limb-like with the pectoral fins not widely attached to the body. The skin on the underside of the fin rays thick and spongy, creating pads close to the tips of the fin rays, the fin membrane also thick and opaque. The dorsal and anal fins are small, the dorsal fin is covered in skin and is on the tail while the anal fin is fleshy and under the tail. The upper surface of the body is covered in large buckler-like scales and with conical spines, the lower surface of the body has a complete covering of pointed, bony scales and the underside of the tail has a dense covering of small spines, apart from a few conical spines on its midline. …

Ogcocephalus cubifrons is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it occurs from North Carolina southwards along the eastern coast of the United States to the Bahamas. It also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys north as far as Apalachicola, Florida and then from Mexico off Campeche and Yucatán. In the northern Gulf of Mexico this species has been claimed but these records are likely to be misidentifications of O. pantostictus. The polka-dot batfish is an uncommon demersal fish found on sand, mud and rock substrates at depths between 0 and 70 m (0 and 230 ft).

Ogcocephalus cubifrons is a member of the genus Ogcocephalus, the name of which is a combination of ogkos, which means "hook", and cephalus, meaning "head", an allusion to the pointed rostrum on the snout of the type species. The specific name cubifrons, is a combination of cubus, meaning "cube", and frons, which means "forehead", an allusion to the square-shaped head.