The fish people think is a stonefish, and the confusion is worth clearing up in both directions: this one is dangerous too, just less so, and it gives itself away in a way a real stonefish never does.
When it moves, it flashes. The undersides of the pectoral fins are bright orange with black bands, hidden completely at rest and shown deliberately as the fish shifts position - a warning display aimed at whatever disturbed it. No true stonefish does this. The profile helps as well: this species has a humped back with a distinct dip behind the head, where a stonefish is flat and lumpen throughout.
The venom is the family's, delivered by grooved dorsal spines under downward pressure, and a sting is severe without being in the same class as Synanceia. Treatment is identical - hot water at about 45 C (113 F) to break down the protein, then a doctor.
It sits on rubble in the open rather than burying itself, waits for small fish and crustaceans to pass, and takes them with a strike measured in milliseconds. Thirty centimeters (12 in) of fish that looks like a piece of the reef until it opens its fins.
The genus. Scorpaenopsis Heckel 1837 - opsis (appearance). ETYFish
The species. Scorpaenopsis diabolus (Cuvier 1829) - devilish or of the devil. ETYFish
- humped back with a deep dip behind the head, unlike the flat-backed true stonefish
- flashes bright orange and black pectoral fin undersides when it moves
- skin flaps and warts over a mottled brown body
- eyes on the sides of the head, not on top
- length up to 30 cm
Why it's threatened
There are no known major threats towards this species.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
