A scorpionfish the size of a thumb, spotted in yellow, wedged deep among the branches of a living Pocillopora head. Ten centimeters (4 in), and one that breaks the family habit of sitting on open bottom.
Living inside a coral colony solves two problems at once. Nothing large can reach in after it, and the small fish and shrimps it eats come to the coral anyway - so the ambush works without the fish having to find a good spot on the sand and hope. Its neighbors inside the same head are usually guard crabs and coral gobies, none of which it can catch.
The yellow spots are the field mark, and they are surprisingly visible in a torch beam against the coral. Without light it is invisible.
The spines carry the family venom. Nobody gets stung by one on purpose, but coral heads are exactly what people grab when a current catches them, which is worth remembering. Hot water at about 45 C (113 F) if it happens, then a doctor.
The genus.Sebastapistes Gill 1877 - apistes (not to be trusted or perfidious). ETYFish
The species.Sebastapistes cyanostigma (Bleeker 1856) - cyano- (blue) + stigma (mark or spot). ETYFish
How to recognise it
small stout scorpionfish, mottled red-brown with bright yellow spots
always inside a branching coral head, never on open rubble
skin flaps around the jaw and above the eyes
length up to 10 cm
Why it's threatened
Climate change & severe weather
Habitat shifting & alteration
There have been no confirmed population declines. However, because of its affinity with coral reefs, we suspect it may be experiencing population declines due to habitat loss in parts of its range. Significant global-level population declines are not suspected at this time.
As of 2008, 15% of the world's coral reefs were considered under imminent threat of being "Effectively Lost" (with 90% of the corals lost and unlikely to recover soon), with regions in East Africa, South and South-east Asia, and the wider Caribbean being the most highly threatened (Wilkinson et al. 2008). Of 704 zooxanthellate reef-building coral species which were assessed by using the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Criteria, 32.8% are in categories with elevated risk of extinction (Carpenter et al. 2008).
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
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