Devil firefish (common lionfish)
Pterois miles
Valid name. Often misidentified as Pterois volitans, which is the Pacific species; Indian Ocean lionfish of this type are P. miles.
- English
- Devil firefish (common lionfish)
- Scientific
- Pterois miles
- Dhivehi
- ފަންހާމަސްFanhaamas
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- About 35 cm (FishBase lists up to 43 cm)
- Depth and habitat
- Reefs, lagoons and rubble, 0 to about 60 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2017
Description
A showy fish with red-brown and white vertical stripes, fan-like pectoral fins and long separate dorsal spines that carry venom. It hunts small fish and shrimps at dusk and dawn, using its spread pectoral fins to herd prey into a corner before swallowing it in a fast strike. By day it often hovers near overhangs. This species has become invasive in the Mediterranean, entering via the Suez Canal.
In the Maldives
Native to the Maldives and commonly seen around coral heads and wrecks. Its fin spines are venomous; stings are painful but rarely dangerous.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Pterois-miles.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ފަންހާމަސް
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pterois_miles_red_sea.JPG
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives, Marine Research Section, Malé (FAO/BOBP MAG/21); Thaana from Dhivehi Wikipedia (fish articles derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition).