Papuan scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis papuensis)

Scientific name: Scorpaenopsis papuensis Cuvier, 1829

Papuan scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis papuensis)

The Papuan scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis papuensis) is a marine fish of the family Scorpaenidae. Native range: Pacific Ocean, Indonesia and the Philippines to the Society Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef and Fiji.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 5. Snout length > orbit diameter. Has a dark purplish blotch on the rear of the spinous dorsal fin. Juveniles with large, forward pointing tentacles above the eyes. Space on opercle between opercular spines scaled; penultimate dorsal spine 1.9-2.2 in length of last spine; reaches 195 mm SL (rarely over 170 mm) (Ref 42181).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Scorpaenopsis papuensis
Family
Scorpaenidae (Scorpionfishes or rockfishes)
Order
Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and Flatheads)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
25.0
Common length
20.0
Depth range
40 m (131 ft)
Environment
Marine; reef-associated; depth range ? - 40 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Pacific Ocean: Indonesia and the Philippines to the Society Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef and Fiji.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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