Daruma Stinger

Erosa erosa

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth37–79 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsMay, September, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The pitted stonefish, also known as the Pacific monkey-fish, is a species of venomous ray-finned fish, a stonefish be longing to the subfamily Synanceiinae of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Erosa and is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pitted stonefish”, 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: 4 records
February: 17 records
March: 16 records
April: 23 records
May: 27 records
June: 21 records
July: 8 records
August: 17 records
September: 39 records
October: 21 records
November: 45 records
December: 14 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 37–79 m · Deepest record: 187 m

10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 10 records
30–40 m: 19 records
40–50 m: 21 records
50–60 m: 57 records
60–70 m: 29 records
70–80 m: 29 records
80–90 m: 9 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120+ m: 6 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 4 records
22–24 °C: 120 records
24–26 °C: 50 records
26–28 °C: 87 records
28–30 °C: 10 records

Names and classification

English: Daruma Stinger, monkeyfish, Monkey-fish, Pacific Monkeyfish, Pitted Scorpionfish, Pitted stonefish

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: Darumaokoze, ダルマオコゼ
Simplified Chinese: 沙薑虎, 獅頭毒鮋, 獅頭鮋, 石虎, 石頭魚, 虎魚, 達摩毒鮋

Other scientific names: Synanceia erosa

Similar species

Synanceia horrida
Stonefish
Synanceia verrucosa
Bearded Ghoul
Inimicus caledonicus
Bearded Ghoul
Inimicus didactylus
Two-stick stingfish
Inimicus filamentosus
Spotted ghoul
Inimicus sinensis

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).
380 open-data records from 1919 to 2017.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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