Black scorpionfish
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Scorpaena-porcus1.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Scorpaena porcus
| synonyms = * Scorpaena erythraea Cuvier, 1829
- Scorpaena klausewitzi Frøiland, 1972
}}
The black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus), also known as the European scorpionfish or small-scaled scorpionfish, is a venomous scorpionfish, common in marine subtropical waters. It is widespread in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to the Azores and Canary Islands, near the coasts of Morocco, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.{{FishBase|Scorpaena|porcus|month=August|year=2021}}
Taxonomy
The black scorpionfish was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in which he gave the type localities as the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.{{Cof genus | genus = Scorpaena | access-date = 14 February 2022}} Linnaeus also described the genus Scorpaena and in 1876 the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker designated S. porcus as the type species of the genus Scorpaena.{{Cof family | family = Scorpaenidae | access-date = 14 February 2022}} The specific name porcus means "pig", an allusion which Linnaeus did not explain. However, it may reference the belief, originating with Athenaeus who said that he observed this species eating algae or weed and this was mistranslated in the Renaissance as "mud".{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes9/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 2 October 2021 | access-date = 14 February 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Description
File:Scorpaena porcus (black scorpionfish, Brauner Drachenkopf) (22052898998).jpg, Spain]]
The black scorpionfish has a maximum length of about {{convert|37|cm|0|abbr=on}} but a more normal adult length is around {{convert|15|cm|0|abbr=on}}. The head is broad with a short snout and upwardly angled mouth. There is a short tentacle just above the eye and various other shorter tentacles, spines and flaps of skin decorating the head. The dorsal fin has twelve spines and nine soft rays and the anal fin has two spines and six soft rays. The pectoral fins are large and oval and have sixteen to eighteen rays. The colour of this fish is generally brownish and there is a dark pigmented spot between the eighth and ninth dorsal spines. The fins are mottled with brown and the caudal fin has three vertical brown stripes.
Distribution and habitat
The black scorpionfish is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Its range extends southwards from the southern half of the British Isles to the Azores, the Canary Islands and the northwestern coast of Africa. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea down to depths of about {{convert|800|m|0|abbr=on}}.
Biology
File:Scorpaena porcus Koufonissi.JPG in Greece]]
The black scorpionfish is a benthic species and is usually found resting among seaweed and on rocks. It is usually solitary and it is not territorial.{{Cite web |title=Black scorpionfish • Scorpaena porcus • Fish sheet |url=https://www.fishi-pedia.com/fishes/scorpaena-porcus |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Fishipedia |language=en}} This is one of the fish used by the marine leech Pontobdella muricata as a host.{{cite web |url=https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Pontobdella-muricata.html |title=Pontobdella muricata Linnaeus, 1758 |publisher=SeaLifeBase |access-date=27 December 2019}}
= Hunting and diet =
Like all the members of the Scorpaeninae subfamily, it is an ambush predator.{{Cite web |title=Venomous Beauties: A Look at Scorpionfishes {{!}} TFH Magazine |url=https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/saltwater/venomous-beauties-a-look-at-scorpionfishes-in-the-home-aquarium |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=www.tfhmagazine.com |language=en}} It waits motionless for its prey to pass by and then leaps forward instantly to suck it in with its large mouth.[https://www.aquariumbcn.com/en/especies/bony-fish/black-scorpionfish/ "Black scorpionfish"]. L’Aquàrium de Barcelona. Retrieved 2024-09-19 It feeds on small fishes such as blennies and gobies, crustaceans and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
= Reproduction =
= Defense mechanisms =
The black scorpionfish has poisonous needles located on its dorsal, anal and ventral fins; and on its operculum.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{sealifephotos|127247}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q900949}}
Category:Fish described in 1758
Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea