Black scorpionfish

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Black scorpionfish
Scorpaena-porcus1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Scorpaena
Species:
S. porcus
Binomial name
Scorpaena porcus
Synonyms [3]
  • Scorpaena erythraea Cuvier, 1829
  • Scorpaena klausewitziFrøiland, 1972

The black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus), also known as the European scorpionfish or small-scaled scorpionfish, is a venomous scorpionfish, common in marine subtropical waters. It is widespread in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to the Azores and Canary Islands, near the coasts of Morocco, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

The black scorpionfish was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in which he gave the type localities as the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. [4] Linnaeus also described the genus Scorpaena and in 1876 the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker designated S. porcus as the type species of the genus Scorpaena. [5] The specific name porcus means "pig", an allusion which Linnaeus did not explain. However, it may reference the belief, originating with Athenaeus who said that he observed this species eating algae or weed and this was mistranslated in the Renaissance as "mud". [6]

Description

A black scorpionfish in Mallorca, Spain Scorpaena porcus (black scorpionfish, Brauner Drachenkopf) (22052898998).jpg
A black scorpionfish in Mallorca, Spain

The black scorpionfish has a maximum length of about 37 cm (15 in) but a more normal adult length is around 15 cm (6 in). The head is broad with a short snout and upwardly angled mouth. There is a short tentacle just above the eye and various other shorter tentacles, spines and flaps of skin decorating the head. The dorsal fin has twelve spines and nine soft rays and the anal fin has two spines and six soft rays. The pectoral fins are large and oval and have sixteen to eighteen rays. The colour of this fish is generally brownish and there is a dark pigmented spot between the eighth and ninth dorsal spines. The fins are mottled with brown and the caudal fin has three vertical brown stripes. [7]

Distribution and habitat

The black scorpionfish is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Its range extends southwards from the southern half of the British Isles to the Azores, the Canary Islands and the northwestern coast of Africa. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea down to depths of about 800 m (2,625 ft). [3]

Biology

A black scorpionfish buried in the sand near Koufonisi in Greece Scorpaena porcus Koufonissi.JPG
A black scorpionfish buried in the sand near Koufonisi in Greece

The black scorpionfish is a benthic species and is usually found resting among seaweed and on rocks. [7] It is usually solitary and it is not territorial. [8] This is one of the fish used by the marine leech Pontobdella muricata as a host. [9]

Hunting and diet

Like all the members of the Scorpaeninae subfamily, it is an ambush predator. [10] It waits motionless for its prey to pass by and then leaps forward instantly to suck it in with its large mouth. [11] It feeds on small fishes such as blennies and gobies, crustaceans and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. [7]

Reproduction

Little is known about its reproduction, [7] it is oviparous and the females lay eggs that are enclosed in a transparent, mucous mass; some time between July and August. [11]

Defense mechanisms

The black scorpionfish has poisonous needles located on its dorsal, anal and ventral fins; and on its operculum. [11]

Related Research Articles

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Scorpaena cardinalis, the eastern red scorpionfish, grandfather hapuku, cardinal scorpionfish, Cook's scorpionfish, Cook's rockcod, Kermadec scorpionfish, Northern scorpionfish, red scorpion fish, red scorpion-cod or Sandy-bay cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

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<i>Scorpaena</i> Genus of fishes

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<i>Parascorpaena</i> Genus of fishes

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<i>Pterois antennata</i> Species of fish

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<i>Scorpaenopsis papuensis</i> Species of fish

Scorpaenopsis papuensis, the Papuan scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific.

<i>Scorpaena afuerae</i> Species of fish

Scorpaena afuerae, the Peruvian scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Scorpaena sumptuosa, the western red scorpionfish, western red rockcod, western red scorpioncod or western scorpionfish, is a venomous species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in Western Australia.

<i>Scorpaena papillosa</i> Species of fish

Scorpaena papillosa, the red rock cod, Southern red scorpionfish, chained scorpionfish, common red gurnard, Southern red scorpioncod, Southern rockcod or dwarf scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes.

<i>Scorpaena scrofa</i> Species of fish

Scorpaena scrofa, the red scorpionfish, bigscale scorpionfish, large-scaled scorpion fish, or rascasse is a venomous marine species of ray-finned fish in the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small red scorpionfish</span> Species of fish

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<i>Helicolenus dactylopterus</i> Species of fish

Helicolenus dactylopterus, blackbelly rosefish, bluemouth rockfish, and bluemouth seaperch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae. This Atlantic species is a typical sit-and-wait predator with a highly cryptic coloration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western scorpionfish</span> Species of fish

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<i>Trachyscorpia</i> Genus of fishes

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<i>Pontobdella muricata</i> Species of annelid (marine leech)

Pontobdella muricata is a species of marine leech in the family Piscicolidae. It is a parasite of fishes and is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Scorpaena brasiliensis</i> Species of fish

Scorpaena brasiliensis, the barbfish, goosehead, scorpionfish, orange scorpionfish and red barbfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. This species has venom on its fin spines.

<i>Scorpaena jacksoniensis</i> Species of fish

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<i>Scorpaenodes guamensis</i> Species of fish

Scorpaenodes guamensis, the Guam scorpionfish or common scorpionfish, is a species of venomous, marine, ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humpbacked scorpionfish</span> Species of fish

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References

  1. de Sola, L.; Herrera, J.; Keskin, Ç.; de Morais, L.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; Carpenter, K.E.; de Bruyne, G. (2020). "Scorpaena porcus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T198747A177149605. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T198747A177149605.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Bailly, Nicolas (2013). "Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  3. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Scorpaena porcus". FishBase . August 2021 version.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Scorpaena". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus)". Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  8. "Black scorpionfish • Scorpaena porcus • Fish sheet". Fishipedia. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  9. "Pontobdella muricata Linnaeus, 1758". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  10. "Venomous Beauties: A Look at Scorpionfishes | TFH Magazine". www.tfhmagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  11. 1 2 3 "Black scorpionfish". L’Aquàrium de Barcelona. Retrieved 2024-09-19