Scorpaena papillosa

Scorpaena papillosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Scorpaena
Species: S. papillosa
Binomial name
Scorpaena papillosa
(J. G. Schneider & J. R. Forster, 1801) [1][2][3]
Synonyms [2]
  • Helicolenus papillosus (Schneider & Forster, 1801)
  • Ruboralga ergastulorum (Richardson, 1842)
  • Scorpaena ergastulorum Richardson, 1842
  • Scorpaena papillosus (Schneider & Forster, 1801)
  • Synanceia papillosus Schneider & Forster, 1801

Scorpaena papillosa, common name red rock cod is a venomous[3] species of marine fish in the family Scorpaenidae, the "scorpionfish".

Common names

This species has numerous common names, including:

Description

Scorpaena papillosa grows to a maximum length of approximately 30 cm. Its large mouth contains small, thin teeth that form velvety bands (villiform). It has 12 dorsal spines, 9 to 10 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, 5 anal soft rays, a small row of spines beneath the eyes, and a gill cover margin containing 3 spines.[3]

Distribution

This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific, in New Zealand and southern Australia.[3]

Habitat

Scorpaena papillosa lives in marine, demersal, temperate waters, at depths of 5–50 metres (16–164 ft).[4][3] It can be found on rocky bottoms, in shallow estuaries, in muddy waters as well as other environments, such as in offshore kelp beds and shallow seagrass beds. Juveniles of this species are sometimes found in large rock pools.[3]

Diet

This fish feeds on many different invertebrates, including crustaceans. It also eats other fish.[8]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, December 23, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.