Scorpaena

Scorpaena was first described as a genus in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th Edition of his Systema Naturae. In 1876 Pieter Bleeker designated S. porcus as the type species of the genus. The genus name is based on the Greek word for a scorpion, skorpaina, an allusion to the venomous spines Linnaeus mentioned in his description of S. scrofa.{{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 = 29 January 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}

The 65 recognized species in this genus are:{{FishBase genus | genus = Scorpaena| month = August| year = 2021}}{{Cite journal|last1=Wibowo|first1=Kunto|last2=Motomura|first2=Hiroyuki|date=2020-09-18|title=Review of the Scorpaena papillosa species complex (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) with description of a new species from southwestern Australia|url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4852.5.2|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4852|issue=5|pages=527–546|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4852.5.2|pmid=33056394 |s2cid=222839284 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}

Scorpaena scorpionfishes have a very bony head which is armed with numerous spines. There is a horizontal bony ridge beneath the eyes with 1-4 spines. They have an occipital pit. The uppermost spine on the preoperculum is the longest. There are patches of teeth on the roof of the mouth and at its sides. There are 12 spines and between 7 and 10 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin has 3 spines and 5 soft rays. There are 16 to 21 fin rays in the pectoral fin with some of the upper rays being branched in adults. They have relatively large scales and the scales on the body are smooth. The lateral line is complete and its scales are tubed.{{cite web | url = https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/taxon/1012 | title = Genus: Scorpaena, Scorpionfishes | access-date = 5 February 2022 | work = Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information | publisher = Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute}} They vary in size from a total length of {{cvt|5.6|cm}} in S. pascuensis to {{cvt|45.7|cm}} in S. mystes.

Scorpaena scorpionfishes are found in the tropical and warm temperate zones of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are demersal fishes occurring in a number of habitats but are typically found in rocky or coralline habitats.{{cite web | url = https://oceana.org/marine-life/scorpionfish/ | title = Ocean Fishes Scorpionfish Scorpaenidae sp. | access-date = 6 February 2022 | publisher = Oceana}}

Scorpaena scorpionfishes are solitary, ambush predators which use their cryptically patterned, irregularly shaped bodies to camouflage themselves on the substrate. They have large mouths and will eat prey up to half their own size, the vortex created by the sudden opening of the mouth drawing the prey in.{{cite web | url = https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/saltwater/venomous-beauties-a-look-at-scorpionfishes-in-the-home-aquarium | title = Venomous Beauties: A Look at Scorpionfishes in the Home Aquarium | author = Daniel Pomfret | access-date = 6 February 2022 | publisher = Tropical Fish Magazine}} They have venomous spines which can inflict serious injuries on humans.

Scorpaena scorpionfishes are caught by recreational and commercial fisheries in some parts of the world. The flesh is regarded as very palatable.{{cite web | url = https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/seafood-profiles/california-scorpionfish | title = California Scorpionfish | access-date = 6 February 2022 | publisher = California Sea Grant}}{{cite journal | author1 = Antoni Sureda | author2 = Carlos Barceló | author3 = Silvia Tejada | author4 = inmaculada Monterey | author5 = Elisa Langley | author6 = Antonio Box | display-authors = 3 | year = 2020 | title = Physiological and survival effects of capture of red scorpion fish Scorpaena scrofa (Osteichthyes: Scorpaenidae) by different fishing gears in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) | journal = Fisheries Research | volume = 229 | url = https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165783620301338}}

{{Reflist}}

• Smith, J.L.B. 1957. [http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018541 The fishes of the Family Scorpaenidae; Part 1: The sub-family Scorpaeninae. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 4]. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
• Smith, J.L.B. 1957. [http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018542 The fishes of the Family Scorpaenidae; Part 2: The sub-families Pteroinae, Apistinae, Setarchinae and Sebastinae. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 5]. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
• Smith, J.L.B. 1958. [http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018773 Fishes of the families Tetraogidae, Caracanthidae and Synanciidae from the Western Indian Ocean with further notes on Scorpaenid fishes. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 12]. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

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Category:Scorpaenini

Category:Venomous fish

Category:Extant Eocene first appearances

Category:Marine fish genera

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus