False Scorpion-fish
Centrogenys vaigiensis
- Usual depth0–34 m
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Doreen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The false scorpionfish, also known as prettyfins, is a species of ray-finned fish, one of three species in the genus Centrogenys, which is the only genus in the family Centrogenyidae. They are pale grey or brown and usually grow no longer than 25 cm (9.8 in). False scorpionfish are distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific, bounded by the Ryukyu Islands of Japan to the north and Australia to the south, the Nicobar Islands to the west and New Guinea to the east.
Text from the Wikipedia article “False scorpionfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 28 records
- February: 12 records
- March: 26 records
- April: 30 records
- May: 25 records
- June: 23 records
- July: 37 records
- August: 30 records
- September: 46 records
- October: 60 records
- November: 46 records
- December: 34 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–34 m · Deepest record: 135 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Photos
(c) Doreen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- False Scorpion-fish, False Scorpionfish, Pretty-fins
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- Onihata, オニハタ
Other scientific names: Scorpaena vaigiensis
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).
- 321 open-data records from 1824 to 2022.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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