Scientific Name
Scorpaena scrofa

Common Name
Red scorpionfish

Biology
Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 5. Dark spot often on spinous dorsal (Ref. 4313).

Classification

Classified By

Linnaeus, 1758

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Scorpionfishes and Flatheads (Scorpaeniformes)

Family

Scorpionfishes or rockfishes (Scorpaenidae)

Distribution

Region

Eastern Atlantic

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: British Isles (rare) to Senegal including Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. Also throughout the Mediterranean except Black Sea. South African species thought to be the same as population in the northeast Atlantic (Ref. 4313).

Range

60°N - 35°S, 26°W - 36°E

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

20 m

Depth To - meters

500 m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Marine; brackish; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 20 - 500 m (Ref. 4510), usually ? - 150 m (Ref. 27000)

Trophic Level

4.27 s.e. 0.73 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

50.0 cm

Common Length

30.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums

Vulnerability

High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.08)

Threat To Humans

Venomous (Ref. 4690)

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated