Doryhamphus pessuliferus (Fowler, 1938)
Inhabits coral reef crevices; similar to D. dactyliophorus (Pl. 17-11), but has orange instead of white background colour; Indonesia (N. Sulawesi) and Philippines; to 15 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
4 BLUE-STRIPED PIPEFISH
Doryrhamphus excisus excisus Kaup, 1856
Inhabits coral reef crevices; distinguished by reddish fanshaped tail; found throughout the region; Indo-E. Pacific; to 7 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
5 RUBBLE PIPEFISH
Corythoichthys haematopterus (Bleeker, 1851)
Inhabits coral reefs, usually on rubble bottoms; similar to 6 below, but dark markings are usually less distinct on rear part of body; N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 20 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
6 RINGED PIPEFISH
Corythoichthys intestinalis (Ramsay, 1881)
Inhabits coral reefs, usually on rubble bottoms; similar to 5 above, but dark markings are usually more distinct on rear part of body; Great Barrier Reef, N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; mainly W. Pacific; to 16 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
7 SCHULTZ’S PIPEFISH
Corythoichthys schultzi Herald, 1953
Inhabits coral reefs, usually on rubble bottoms; similar to 5 and 6 above, but has much longer snout; Great Barrier Reef, offshore reefs of N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 15 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
8 BROWN-BANDED PIPEFISH
Corythoichthys ampler Dawson & Randall, 1975
Inhabits coral reefs; distinguished by broad brown bars with narrower white bars between; Great Barrier Reef and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 9 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
9 GLITTERING PIPEFISH
Halicampus nitidus (Gunther, 1873)
Inhabits coral reefs; distinguished by short smout and white background colour with numerous narrow brown bars; Great Barrier Reef, offshore reefs of N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; mainly W. Pacific; to 7.5 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
10 WHITE PIPEFISH
Siokunichthys nigrolineatus Dawson, 1983
Inhabits coral reefs; lives among polyps of mushroom corals; distinguished by overall white colour; Indonesia, Philippines, and New Guinea; to 8 cm. (SYNGNATHIDAE)
11 CLEARFIN LIONFISH
Pterois radiata Cuvier, 1829
Inhabits coral reef caves and ledges; distinguished by broad brown bars on body separated by narrow white lines, horizontal band on tail base, and enlarged filamentous pectoral fins; offshore reefs of N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-C. Pacific; to 20 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
12 DOUBLESPOT LIONFISH
Dendrochirus biocellatus (Fowler, 1938)
Inhabits coral reef caves and ledges; distinguished by elongate “whiskers” and pair of pale-rimmed dark spots on rear part of dorsal fin; offshore reefs of N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-C. Pacific; to 13 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
13 WEEDY SCORPIONFISH
Rhinopias aphanes Eschmeyer, 1973
Inhabits coral reefs; distinguished by bold maze-like pattern and filamentous tentacles on head and body; Great Barrier Reef and New Guinea; W. Pacific; to 24 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
14 MCADAM’S SCORPIONFISH
Parascorpaena mcadamsi (Fowler, 1938)
Inhabits coral reef crevices; distinguished by 12 dorsal spines, second spine above upper jaw curves outward and hooks forward, and black spot at rear of spiny part of dorsal fin; offshore reefs of N.W. Australia and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 6 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
15 SHORT-FINNED SCORPIONFISH
Scorpaenodes parvipinnis (Garrett, 1864)
Inhabits coral reef crevices; distinguished by 13 dorsal spines and relatively low spiny part of dorsal fin; Great Barrier Reef, offshore reefs of N.W. Australia, and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-C. Pacific; to 13 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
16 HAIRY SCORPIONFISH
Scorpaenodes hirsutus (Smith, 1957)
Inhabits coral reef crevices, usually on outer slopes; distinguished by 13 dorsal spines, dark blotch at front of dorsal fin, and another on basal half of pectoral fin; Great Barrier Reef and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-C. Pacific; to 5 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
17 SMALLSCALE SCORPIONFISH
Scorpaenopsis oxycephala (Bleeker, 1849)
Inhabits coral reefs; rests in the open and is most commonly observed scorpionfish; similar to S. venosa (Pl. 20-10), but usually has 20 pectoral rays instead of 17-18; Great Barrier Reef, offshore reefs of N.W. Australia, and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 30 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
18 YELLOW-SPOTTED SCORPIONFISH
Sebastapistes cyanostigma (Bleeker, 1856)
Inhabits coral heads (often Pocillopora); distinguished by large yellow blotches and tiny pale spots on side; Great Barrier Reef, offshore reefs of N.W. Australia, and throughout S.E. Asia; Indo-C. Pacific; to 7 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
19 REEF STONEFISH
Synanceja verrucosa Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Inhabits coral reefs, among rocks or under slabs of dead coral; wound from venomous dorsal and anal-fin spines may cause serious injury or death; similar to S. horrida (Pl. 19-8), but found more offshore in clear water; found throughout the region; Indo-W. Pacific; to 35 cm. (SCORPAENIDAE)
PLATE 19: SCORPIONFISHES (FAMILY SCORPAENIDAE)
1 DWARF LIONFISH
Dendrochirus brachypterus (Cuvier, 1829)
Inhabits coral reefs, distinguished by large pectoral fins without elongate, free filamantous rays, similar to 2 below, but has more prominent curved bands on pectoral fins and bars on side are less well defined; also known as Short-finned scorpionfish; found throughout the region; Indo-C. Pacific; to 15 cm.
2 ZEBRA LION FISH
Dendrochirus zebra (Cuvier, 1829)
Inhabits coral reefs; distinguished by large pectoral fins without elongate, free filamentous rays, similar to 1 above, but bands on pectoral fins poorly defined and bars on side more distinct, also known as Butterfly scorpionfish; found throughout the region; Indo-C Pacific; to 18 cm.
3 RAGGED-FINNED FIREFISH
Pterois antennata (Bloch, 1787)
Inhabits coral reefs, usually in caves and crevices distinguished by white filamentous pectoral rays, row of large dark spots at base of this fin and relatively few dark bars on head; also known as Spotfin lionfish; found throughout the region; Indo-C. Pacific; to 30 cm.
4 DEEPWATER FIREFISH
Pterois mombasae (Smith, 1957)
Inhabits offshore reefs, usually below 40 m depth; distinguished by relatively short filamentous tips on pectoral fin which is densely spotted and maze of dark and light bands on tail base; N.W. Australia and Indonesia; Indo-W. Pacific; to 16 cm.
5 SPOTLESS FIREFISH
Pterois russelli Bennett, 1831
Inhabits offshore reefs, usually below 20-30 m depth; distinguished by filamentous pectoral rays and lack of spots on dorsal, anal, and tail fins; found throughout the region; Indo-W. Pacific; to 30 cm.
6 RED FIREFISH
Pterois volitans (Linnaeus,