Marbled Stingfish

Cottapistus cottoides

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth21–56 m
Water temperature24–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember and October
How commonRare

About this species

The marbled spinefish, also known as the yellow waspfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a waspfish belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Cottapistus. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Marbled stingfish”, 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: 8 records
February: 11 records
March: 1 records
April: 9 records
May: 8 records
June: 13 records
July: 6 records
August: 17 records
September: 32 records
October: 39 records
November: 17 records
December: 16 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 21–56 m · Deepest record: 92.5 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 5 records
20–30 m: 19 records
30–40 m: 29 records
40–50 m: 15 records
50–60 m: 13 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C

22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 26 records
26–28 °C: 109 records
28–30 °C: 52 records

Names and classification

English: Marbled Stingfish, Yellow Waspfish

Names in 1 more languages

Thai: ปลากะรังหัวโขนจุดน้ำตาล

Other scientific names: Abcichthys scorpio, Cottapistus scorpio, Leiocranium scorpio, Paracentropogon scorpio, Perca cottoides, Vadesuma scorpio

Similar species

Eastern Fortescue
Centropogon australis
waspfish
Paracentropogon longispinis
Redskinfish
Ablabys binotatus
Spiny Leaf-fish
Ablabys macracanthus
Cockatoo Fish
Ablabys taenianotus
Fortescue
Centropogon latifrons

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).
236 open-data records from 1910 to 2017.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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