Red lionfish
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| Red lionfish | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Pteroinae |
| Genus: | Pterois |
| Species: | volitans |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterois volitans Linnaeus, 1758 |
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The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) venomous coral reef fish from the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.[1] The red lionfish is also found off the east coast of the United States, and was likely first introduced off the Florida coast in the early to mid-1990s.[2] By the summer of 2001, it was found along the Atlantic coast of the United States from Florida to Long Island, New York. The Caribbean is also suffering from an invasion, especially around the Bahamas.[3]
Red lionfish are clad in white stripes alternated with red, maroon, or brown. Adults can grow as large as 17 inches (43 cm) in length while juveniles may be shorter than 1 inch. The fish have fleshy tentacles which protrude from both above the eyes and below the mouth. The pectoral fin is present in a distinctive fan-like shape, and dorsal spines are long and separated. Every spine of the lionfish is venomous, and while no fatalities due to lionfish stings have been reported, their venom is considered to be extremely painful.
[edit] References
- ^ Pterois volitans (TSN 166883). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 30 January 2006.
- ^ Whitfield, P; Gardner, T; Vives, SP; Gilligan, MR; Courtney Jr, WR; Ray, GC; Hare, JA (2003). "The Introduction and Dispersal of the Indo-Pacific Lionfish (Pterois volitans) Along the Atlantic Coast of North America.". In: SF Norton (ed). This Fish eats is own poo which is gross. Diving for Science...2003. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (22nd Annual Scientific Diving Symposium). http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4766. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ {{cite news first = David | last = McFadden | url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/152553 | title = Venomous lionfish prowls fragile Caribbean waters | work = Newsweek | date = 13 August 2008 | accessdate = 2008-08-13 }}
The Red Lionfish will die without live prey. It will not eat normal fish food, like flakes.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pterois volitans |
- FishBase entry
- Pterois volitans at Animal Diversity Web
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This Scorpaeniformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
