Devil scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis diabolus
- Usual depth1–22 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsMay, September, and October
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Scorpaenopsis diabolus, the false stonefish, false scorpionfish or the devil scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has venomous spines and lives in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as in the Red Sea. It is a bottom-dwelling predator that relies on its camouflage to catch passing prey.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Scorpaenopsis diabolus”, 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: 22 records
- February: 13 records
- March: 14 records
- April: 16 records
- May: 36 records
- June: 20 records
- July: 17 records
- August: 22 records
- September: 28 records
- October: 26 records
- November: 20 records
- December: 6 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–22 m · Deepest record: 35 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Devil scorpionfish, False stonefish, devil scorpionfish, Devil Scorpionfish, False stonefish, False Scorpionfish, false stonefish
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Poisson Pierre Faux, Poisson-scorpion diable
- Japanese
- Niraikasago, ニライカサゴ
- Simplified Chinese
- 毒擬鮋, 沙薑虎, 沙薑鱠仔, 石崇, 石狗公, 石獅子, 石降, 石頭魚, 硓[石古]魚, 臭頭格仔, 虎魚, 過溝仔, 駝背石狗公
Other scientific names: Scorpaena diabolis, Scorpaena diabolus, Scorpaenopsis catocala, Scorpaenopsis diabola, Scorpaenopsis diabolis
Similar species
- Bigmouth Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis brevifrons
- hairy stingfish
Scorpaenopsis cirrosa
- Flasher Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis macrochir
- Bandtail Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis neglecta
- Smallscale Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis oxycephala
- Papuan Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis papuensis
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).
- 670 open-data records from 1829 to 2023.
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