Scorpaena scrofa


Scorpaena scrofa, common name the red scorpionfish, bigscale scorpionfish, large-scaled scorpion fish or Rascasse is a venomous marine species of fish in the family Scorpaenidae, the "scorpionfish".

Description

Scorpaena scrofa is the largest eastern Atlantic scorpion fish. Colouration ranges from brick-red to a light pink, and it has dark coloured blotches on its body. It has venomous spines, can achieve a maximum weight of approximately. It can grow to a maximum length of, but is commonly around.
It has 12 dorsal spines, 9 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, and 5 soft rays. It often has a dark spot on its spinous dorsal spines between the 6th and 11th. It has long supraorbital tentacles.

Distribution

This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea. It is also found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean around the British Isles, where it is rare, south to Senegal, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde.

Habitat

Scorpaena scrofa is demersal and lives in marine, and brackish environments with rocky, sandy or muddy bottoms at depths of. By day, it lives in burrows and caves. At night it comes out to hunt.

Behaviour

This species is a sedentary, solitary and non-migratory fish. It is predatory, feeding on other fish, as well as crustaceans and molluscs. This is one of the fish used by the marine leech Pontobdella muricata as a host.

As food

Scorpaena scrofa is a traditional ingredient in Marseille bouillabaisse. It is also widely used in Japanese cuisine.