Papuan Scorpionfish

Scorpaenopsis papuensis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–34 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsMay, June, and October
How commonRare

About this species

Scorpaenopsis papuensis, the Papuan scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Scorpaenopsis papuensis”, 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: 11 records
February: 8 records
March: 6 records
April: 14 records
May: 25 records
June: 22 records
July: 8 records
August: 3 records
September: 6 records
October: 19 records
November: 11 records
December: 9 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–34 m · Deepest record: 235 m

0–10 m: 35 records
10–20 m: 23 records
20–30 m: 8 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

22–24 °C: 4 records
24–26 °C: 12 records
26–28 °C: 43 records
28–30 °C: 64 records

Names and classification

English: Papuan Scorpionfish, Papua Scorpionfish

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: Pez Escorpión de Papua
French: Poisson-scorpion papou
Japanese: Urumakasago, ウルマカサゴ
Simplified Chinese: 沙薑虎, 石崇, 石狗公, 石獅子, 石降, 石頭魚, 紅擬鮋, 紅石狗公, 臭頭格仔, 虎魚, 過溝仔

Other scientific names: Scorpaena papuensis

Similar species

Poss' Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis possi
Rama Rao's Scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis ramaraoi
Lionfish
Pterois volitans
Spotted coral croucher
Caracanthus maculatus
Pygmy coral croucher
Caracanthus unipinna
Zebra turkeyfish
Dendrochirus zebra

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).
254 open-data records from 1931 to 2022.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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