Scorpaena grandicornis
Plumed Scorpionfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Scorpaeniformes (Lionfish, Stonefish and others)
Scorpaenidae (Scorpionfishes)
Scorpaena
Scorpaena grandicornis (Plumed Scorpionfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Head and snout are relatively short, and eye is of moderate size. Teeth are small and arranged in narrow bands in jaws, palatine, and vomer. Preorbital bone has two spinous points over maxilla. Suborbital ridge has two or three spinous points. Nasal, preocular, supraocular, postocular, anterior and posterior parietal, one or two sphenotic, upper and lower posttemporal, cleithral, supracleithral, and pterotic spines are present. Preoperculum has 3 spines; the first bears a supplemental spine and extends less than half the width of operculum, and the second is about as long or slightly longer than the third. Gill rakers on first arch number 4 to 7 on upper limb and 7 to 10 on lower limb. Slit behind fourth gill arch is absent. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 40%–43%, snout length 8%–10%, orbital diameter 10%–13%, interorbital width 6%–8%, upper jaw length 18%–22%, body depth 38%–41%. Pectoral fin has 18 or 19 rays, with uppermost unbranched, next 7 to 9 branched, and remainder unbranched in specimens greater than 50 mm SL. Dorsal fin has 12 spines and 9 rays. Anal fin has 3 spines and 5 rays. Scales are cycloid, and lateral line scales are pored and number 23. Vertebrae number 24, and gas bladder is absent.
Scorpaena grandicornis is dark brown on body and fins, with white spots on head and anterior part of body, and caudal fin has three dark bands. Axil of pectoral fin has patch of white spots on tan or dark background.
Distribution
North Atlantic from Florida and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
In the Gulf of Mexico it is known from only the Dry Tortugas.
Habitat Associations
Shallow water, sea-grass beds, channels, and bays.
Biology
Maximum known size is about 140 mm SL.
Inhabits seagrass beds, grassy bays and channels. Moves only when disturbed. Wounds inflicted are extremely painful, but not fatal.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 36715).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-20. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Eschmeyer 1965b
Eschmeyer 1969b
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Poss and Eschmeyer 2002
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Halstead, B.W., P.S. Auerbach and D.R. Campbell (1990) A colour atlas of dangerous marine animals. Wolfe Medical Publications Ltd, W.S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich, England. 192 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Moser, H.G. (1996) Scorpaenidae: scorpionfishes and rockfishes. p. 733-795. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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