Scorpaenopsis oxycephala

Scorpaenidae
Smallscale Scorpionfish, Tasselled Scorpionfish
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Bali, Indonesia,
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Bali, Indonesia,
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Indonesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Indonesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Indonesia,
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Indonesia,
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
  • Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Lord Howe Is, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
    Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Lord Howe Is, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Moderately-humped back and snout longer and flatter than in Scorpaena species. Prominent skin tassels on underside of head. Very similar S. papuensis has larger scales, and S. venosa  may have large cirri above eyes, but field identification of these species is difficult.    
Information
  • Max Size: 36 cm
  • Sea Temperature Range: 22.4-30.5°C
  • Depth: 1-400m
  • Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
  • Habitat Generalisation Index: 7.1
    Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here
Rarity
  • IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
  • Occurrence: Infrequent (2% of sites)
    Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
  • Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
    Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland
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