- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 30 cm
- Depth
- 1-70 m
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
Scorpaenopsis diabolus, the false stonefish, false scorpionfish or the devil scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has venomous spines and lives in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as in the Red Sea. It is a bottom-dwelling predator that relies on its camouflage to catch passing prey.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
Two camouflaged scorpionfish on the same reefs. Tasseled Scorpionfish has a long snout fringed with a beard of tassels around the mouth, a slimmer body, and often a darker triangle below the eye. False Stonefish has a humped back and a broad head with no beard, and flashes orange, black and white under its pectoral fins when disturbed.
See the Tasseled Scorpionfish →
The pair where a mistake can hurt: both sit still like a rock, and Reef Stonefish carries the most potent venom of any fish. Reef Stonefish has a wide, flat head with small eyes on top, each with a deep pit behind it, an upturned mouth, and warty, scaleless skin. False Stonefish has a humped back and, when disturbed, flashes the insides of its pectoral fins, blotched orange, black and white. Both are venomous: touch and stand on neither.
See the Reef Stonefish →