Scorpaenodes caribbaeus
Reef Scorpionfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Scorpaeniformes (Lionfish, Stonefish and others)
Scorpaenidae (Scorpionfishes)
Scorpaenodes
Scorpaenodes caribbaeus (Reef Scorpionfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Has conspicuous dark spot on rear dorsal fin spines. Without occipital pit (Ref. 26938). Palatine teeth absent; no preorbital spines; suborbital ridge with 4 or 5 spinous points (Ref. 13442).
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Florida, USA and Bahamas to Panama and northern South America. Antilles, western and southern Caribbean (Ref. 26938).
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 0-70 m.
Biology
Inhabits coral reefs. Sometimes drifts above hard substratum or near ceilings of caves or ledges. Secretive but common (Ref. 9710). Maximum depth from Ref. 126840.
Max length: 12.0 cm TL.
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: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
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.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 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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