Black scorpionfish

The black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus), also known as the European scorpionfish or small-scaled scorpionfish, is a venomous scorpionfish, common in marine subtropical waters. It is widespread in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to the Azores and Canary Islands, near the coasts of Morocco, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.[3]

Black scorpionfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Scorpaena
Species:
S. porcus
Binomial name
Scorpaena porcus
Synonyms[3]
  • Scorpaena erythraea Cuvier, 1829
  • Scorpaena klausewitzi Frøiland, 1972

Taxonomy

The black scorpionfish was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in which he gave the type localities as the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.[4] Linnaeus also described the genus Scorpaena and in 1876 the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker designated S. porcus as the type species of the genus Scorpaena.[5] The specific name porcus means "pig", an allusion which Linnaeus did not explain. However, it may reference the belief, originating with Athenaeus who said that he observed this species eating algae or weed and this was mistranslated in the Renaissance as "mud".[6]

Description

The black scorpionfish has a maximum length of about 37 cm (15 in) but a more normal adult length is around 15 cm (6 in). The head is broad with a short snout and upwardly angled mouth. There is a short tentacle just above the eye and various other shorter tentacles, spines and flaps of skin decorating the head. The dorsal fin has twelve spines and nine soft rays and the anal fin has two spines and six soft rays. The pectoral fins are large and oval and have sixteen to eighteen rays. The colour of this fish is generally brownish and there is a dark pigmented spot between the eighth and ninth dorsal spines. The fins are mottled with brown and the caudal fin has three vertical brown stripes. [7]

Distribution and habitat

The black scorpionfish is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Its range extends southwards from the southern half of the British Isles to the Azores, the Canary Islands and the northwestern coast of Africa. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea down to depths of about 800 m (2,625 ft).[3]

Biology

The black scorpionfish is a benthic species and is usually found resting among seaweed and on rocks. It is usually solitary, and it feeds on small fishes such as blennies and gobies, crustaceans and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Little is known about its reproduction.[7] This is one of the fish used by the marine leech Pontobdella muricata as a host.[8]

References
  1. de Sola, L.; Herrera, J.; Keskin, Ç.; de Morais, L.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; Carpenter, K.E.; de Bruyne, G. (2020). "Scorpaena porcus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T198747A177149605. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T198747A177149605.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Bailly, Nicolas (2013). "Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Scorpaena porcus" in FishBase. August 2021 version.
  4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Scorpaena". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scorpaenidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. "Black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus)". Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  8. "Pontobdella muricata Linnaeus, 1758". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
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