Last Update : Sunday 11 November, 2001 7:46 PM
Last Update : Sunday 11 November, 2001 7:46 PM |
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| Illust : Anuwat Saisaeng |
| Scorpion fish | |
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Scientific name |
Scorpaenopsis oxycephata |
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Common name |
Scorpion fish |
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Size |
30 centimeters |
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Dispersion |
Andaman Sea. Little found in the Gulf of Thailand |
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Area found |
On the floor of the reef and rock piles. |
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Depth |
3 – 50 meters |
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Feed on |
Small animals, shrimps, crabs, fish. |
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Situation |
Generally found. Not in endangered status. |
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Conservation |
No one usually does them harm. |
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Fish Tip |
Beware! Do not touch, ever. Very painful. |
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Many people say that scorpion fish is number one bad character of the reef because not only are they poisonous but also camouflaged to look like the floor. It is not easy to distinguish them. But if we touch them, it hurts to tears. Some species can easily send us to heaven.
Scorpion fish is in Family Scorpaenidae, the same as lion fish and rhinopias. According to the information I have, there are 388 species in 45 genera. That is considered high diversity. Many species of them change in colors and shapes making it more difficult to distinguish.
The prominent characters of fish in this Family are large head, wide mouth, large eyes, most has excrescence on the body. Most important thing is that they (almost every species) have poisonous fins. Poisonous fins are definitely dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. The poison is in hard stems of the fin and flows out when that part of skin is torn. Some have poison gland under the hard stems of the fin. When the hard stem is pressed, the poison will flow out to the wound. Normally this type of poison is especially strong and in abundance.
Poison of scorpion fish is for self defense, not for hunting. Their hunting technique is waiting quietly. When small fish or small animals come near them without being aware, scorpion fish open their mouth wide and take them in one go. No part of the prey remains to be seen, except probably the fish tail protruding out of the mouth.
If we are careful not to touch anything in the reef, probability of us being pricked is very small. If we are poisoned, use hot press massage like hot water bottle, tiger lily leaves, hair-dryer. The poison is protein base and will go away by heat. But it takes time though. Some time it aches for a day or two.
There are more to the story of scorpion fish. But I would like to go little by little, just in case I publish a book “Fish in the Thai Sea – Manual”. This plan is in the pipeline. Please wait a little while.
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