Red lionfish

Pterois volitans · The red lionfish is a venomous, striped coral reef fish native to the Indo-Pacific that has become invasive in the Caribbean and off the eastern United States.

Red lionfish
Photo: Photo by Jens Petersen, Edited by User:Olegiwit (cloned in part of fins) and Fir0002 (removed spots and noise), CC BY 2.5
Red lionfish
Photo: Michael Gäbler, CC BY 3.0
Red lionfish
Photo: Phương Huy (thảo luận), Public domain

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyScorpaenidae
GenusPterois
SpeciesPterois volitans

Where it lives

Reefs of the western and central Pacific; invasive in the Caribbean and western Atlantic.

Fun facts

  • When threatened, a slow-swimming lionfish points its venomous spines at its attacker, even if it has to swim upside down to do it.
  • A female red lionfish can lay up to 30,000 eggs in a single mating session.
  • Lionfish larvae hatch just 36 hours after fertilization and can eat tiny ciliates only four days after conception.
  • Lionfish corner their prey with their big fins, then use quick reflexes to swallow it whole.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).