The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of mostly marine

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous

mucus Mucus (, ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both Serous fluid, serous and muc ...

. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas but mostly found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. They should not be confused with the cabezones, of the genus '' Scorpaenichthys'', which belong to a separate, though related, family, Cottidae.

Taxonomy

Scorpaenidae was described as a family in 1826 by the French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Antoine Risso. The family is included in the suborder Scorpaenoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes in the 5th Edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' but other authorities place it in the Perciformes either in the suborder Scorpaenoidei or the superfamily Scorpaenoidea. The subfamilies of this family are treated as valid families by some authorities. The earliest known member of the subfamily is the

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

-aged '' Eosynanceja'', which is also one of the earliest known perciforms.

Subfamilies and tribes

Scorpaenidae is divided into the following subfamilies and tribes, containing a total of 65 genera with no less than 454 species: * Subfamily Sebastinae Kaup, 1873 (Rockfishes) ** Tribe Sebastini Kaup, 1873 ** Tribe Sebastolobini Matsubara, 1943 * Subfamily Setarchinae Matsubara, 1943 * Subfamily

Neosebastinae Neosebastidae, the gurnard scorpionfishes or gurnard perches, is a small family of deep-sea ray-finned fishes. It is part of the suborder Scorpaenoidei within the order Perciformes. These fishes are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Sever ...

Matsubara, 1943 * Subfamily

Scorpaeninae Scorpaeninae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes, it includes the scorpionfishes, the lionfishes and turkeyfishes. They bear venomous spines in the anal, dorsal and pelvic fins which ...

Risso, 1826 (Scorpionfishes and lionfishes) ** Tribe

Scorpaenini Scorpaenini is a tribe of marine ray-finned fishes, one of two tribes in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. This tribe contains the "typical" or "true" scorpionfishes. The taxonomy of the scorpionfishes is in some flux, the 5th Edition of Fishes of the ...

Risso, 1826 ** Tribe

Pteroini Pteroini is a Tribe (biology), tribe of marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes, one of two tribes in the subfamily Scorpaeninae. This tribe includes the lionfishes, sawcheek scorpionfishes and turkeyfishes. The taxonomy of the scorpionfishes is ...

Kaup, 1873 * Subfamily Caracanthinae Gill, 1885 (Orbicular velvetfishes or coral crouchers) * Subfamily Apistinae

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

, 1859 * Subfamily Tetraroginae J.L.B. Smith, 1949 (Sailback scorpionfishes or wasp fishes) * Subfamily

Synanceiinae Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily mari ...

Swainson, 1839 (Stonefishes) ** Tribe Minoini

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Starks, 1904 ** Tribe Choridactylini Kaup, 1859 ** Tribe Synanceiini Swainson 1839 * Subfamily Plectrogeniinae Fowler, 1938

Characteristics

Scorpaenidae have a compressed body with the head typically having ridges and spines. There are 1–2 spines on the operculum, with 2 normally being divergent, and 3–5 on the preoperculum, normally 5. The suborbital stay is normally securely attached to the preoperculum, although in some species it may not be attached. If there are scales they are typically ctenoid. They normally have a single dorsal fin which is frequently incised. The dorsal fin contains between 11 and 17 spines and 8 and 17 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

usually has between 1 and 3 spines, normally 3, and 3 to 9 soft rays, typically 5, There is a single spine in the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

and between 2 and 5 soft rays, again typically 5, while the large

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

contains 11–25 soft rays and sometimes has a few of the lower rays free of its membrane. The gill membranes are not attached to the isthmus. In some species, there is no

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ (anatomy), organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift ...

. There are venom glands in the spines of the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins in some species. Most species utilise internal fertilisation, and some species are ovoviviparous while others lay their eggs in a gelatinous mass, with '' Scorpaena guttata'' being reported to create a gelatinous "egg balloon" as large as across. The largest species is the shortraker rockfish (''Sebastes borealis'') which attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of while many species have maximum total lengths of .

Distribution and habitat

Scorpaenidae species are mainly found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but some species are also found in the Atlantic Ocean. Some species such as the lionfishes in the genus '' Pterois'' are invasive non native species in areas such as the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and the eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. They are found in marine and brackish habitats. They typically inhabit reefs, but can also be found in estuaries, bays, and lagoons.

References

External links