Scorpion Fish

Beauty Of Animal | Scorpion Fish | Scorpion Fish or Scorpaenidae, the scorpion fish, are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species.  A scorpion fish is a group of predatory, marine fish that are found amongst coral reefs and in shallow waters in the more temperate oceans.  . There are more than 200 recognised species of scorpion fish, hiding amongst the ocean reefs and in artificial aquariums around the world. Scorpion fish are kept in tanks by numerous people because of their interesting appearance and behaviour.

The body of the scorpion fish is often cover in feathery fins that help the scorpion fish to camouflage itself into the surrounding coral. The colours and markings of the scorpion fish are also used to help the scorpion fish to hide. Scorpion fish are nocturnal predators, and spend the daylight hours resting in a hidden crevice in the coral. Scorpion fish are also able to ambush their prey from this position and often catch small fish by surprise.

Scorpion fish are omnivorous fish and hunt small fish, crustaceans and snails on the coral reefs. Scorpion fish are able to stun their prey with their venom before eating it. Scorpion fish also use their venomous sting to fend off unwanted predators. The scorpion fish is a very dominant predator in it's environment, and therefore the scorpion fish has very few natural predators. The human catching the scorpion fish to keep in tanks is the biggest threat to the scorpion fish along with habitat loss from the destruction of coral reefs. Large fish and sea lions are also known to hunt scorpion fish.

The female scorpion fish releases between 2,000 and 15,000 eggs into the water which are fertilised by the male scorpion fish. The scorpion fish eggs hatch in just 2 days and the tiny scorpion fish fry remain near the surface of the water until they are bigger.  . In addition to the name scorpion fish, informal names for family members include "firefish", "turkeyfish", "dragonfish", and "stingfish", usually with adjectives added.

General characteristics of family members include a compressed body, ridges and/or spines on the head, one or two spines on the operculum, and three to five spines on the preopercle. Most species are bottom-dwellers that feed on crustaceans and smaller fish. . When not ambushing, lionfish may herd the fish, shrimp, or crab in to a corner before swallowing. Scorpionfish feed by opening their mouth, then their gills a fraction of a second apart, creating suction. Stripers, grouper, bass, snook, frogfish, toadfish, sculpin, etc., also feed this way, but the scorpionfish, toadfish and sculpins are the only members of this group that have jaw teeth.

 

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