Ocellated waspfish

Apistus carinatus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth16–64 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsJuly and October
How commonOccasional

About this species

Apistus is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. Its only species is the Apistus carinatus, which has the common names ocellated waspfish, bearded waspfish, longfin waspfish or ringtailed cardinalfish. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. This species has venom-bearing spines in its fins.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Apistus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 12 records
February: 24 records
March: 19 records
April: 31 records
May: 32 records
June: 25 records
July: 52 records
August: 33 records
September: 32 records
October: 60 records
November: 20 records
December: 21 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 16–64 m · Deepest record: 418 m

0–10 m: 12 records
10–20 m: 25 records
20–30 m: 45 records
30–40 m: 40 records
40–50 m: 31 records
50–60 m: 24 records
60–70 m: 16 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 2 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 26 records
24–26 °C: 22 records
26–28 °C: 65 records
28–30 °C: 14 records

Names and classification

English: Ocellated waspfish, Long-finned Waspfish, Longfinned Waspfish, Longfin Waspfish, ocellated waspfish

Names in 3 more languages

Japanese: Hachi, ハチ
Thai: ปลากะรังหัวโขนหูดำ, ปลาแมงป่องครีบยาว
Simplified Chinese: 國公, 棱鬚蓑鮋, 獅子魚, 白虎, 稜鬚簑鮋, 鬚蓑鮋

Other scientific names: Apistus balnearum, Apistus carenatus, Apistus faurei, Apistus israelitarum, Hypodytes carinatus, Scorpaena carinata

Similar species

Short-finned Waspfish
Apistops caloundra

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
735 open-data records from 1906 to 2024.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist