No photo available
False stonefish
Scorpaenopsis diabolus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- False stonefish
- Scientific
- Scorpaenopsis diabolus
- Dhivehi
- Gaaviha mas
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 30 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 70 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A stout, humpbacked scorpionfish mottled to match rubble and weedy rock, often partly buried. When disturbed it flashes the brightly coloured orange, yellow and black inner surfaces of its pectoral fins as a warning. It ambushes small fish and has venomous dorsal spines; it is often mistaken for a stonefish.
In the Maldives
FishBase (Maldives) gives gaaviha mas.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Scorpaenopsis-diabolus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=4921&GenusName=Scorpaenopsis&SpeciesN
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:False_Stonefish_-_Scorpaenopsis_diabolus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Gaaviha mas' (Latin script). FLAG: single source.