Scorpaena papillosa, the red rock cod, Southern red scorpionfish, chained scorpionfish, common red gurnard, Southern red scorpioncod, Southern rockcod or dwarf scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes.

Scorpaena papillosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Scorpaena
Species:
S. papillosa
Binomial name
Scorpaena papillosa
Synonyms[4][5]
  • Synanceia papillosus Schneider & Forster, 1801
  • Helicolenus papillosus (Schneider & Forster, 1801)
  • Ruboralga ergastulorum (Richardson, 1842)
  • Scorpaena ergastulorum Richardson, 1842
  • Scorpaena cruenta Solander, 1842
  • Scorpaena militaris Richardson, 1842

Taxonomy

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Scorpaena papillosa was first formally described in 1801 as Synanceia papillosus by the German naturalists Johann Gottlob Schneider and Johann Reinhold Forster with the type locality given as Matatuahu Point on the Tāwharanui Peninsula in the Hauraki Gulf of North Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand.[5] The specific name papillosa means "papilose", a reference to the tentacles on the pored cells along the lateral line.[6]

Subspecies

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Scorpaena papillosa is divided into 2 subspecies:[7]

Image Scientific Name Common Name Distribution
  S.p. papillosa (Schneider & Forster, 1801) Dwarf scorpionfish New Zealand
  S.p. ergastularum Richardson, 1842 Southern red scorpionfish southeastern Australia

Description

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Scorpaena papillosa grows to a maximum length of approximately 30 cm. Its large mouth contains small, thin teeth that form velvety bands (villiform). It has 12 dorsal spines, 9 to 10 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, 5 anal soft rays, a small row of spines beneath the eyes, and a gill cover margin containing 3 spines.[3]

Distribution

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This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific, in New Zealand and southern Australia.[3]

Habitat

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Scorpaena papillosa lives in marine, demersal, temperate waters, at depths of 5–50 metres (16–164 ft).[8][3] It can be found on rocky bottoms, in shallow estuaries, in muddy waters as well as other environments, such as in offshore kelp beds and shallow seagrass beds. Juveniles of this species are sometimes found in large rock pools.[3]

Diet

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This fish feeds on many different invertebrates, including crustaceans. It also eats other fish.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Scorpaena papillosa (Schneider and Forster in Bloch and Schneider, 1801)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  2. ^ Nicolas Bailly (2010). Nicolas Bailly (ed.). "Scorpaena papillosa (Schneider & Forster, 1801)". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Scorpaena papillosa, Red rock cod".
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Scorpaena papillosa". FishBase. August 2021 version.
  5. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Scorpaena". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (2 October 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 9): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Family Scorpaenidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. ^ Bray, D.J. (2020). "Scorpaena papillosa ergastularum". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Scorpaena papillosa (Schneider & Forster 1801)". Fishwise. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  9. ^ "SamsccSouthern_Red_Scorpionfish_-_Southern_Rock_Cod_-_Red_Rock_Cod_-_Common_Red_Gurnard_-_Southern_Red_Scorpion_Cod_-_Common_Red_Rock_Cod < Publications < Reef Watch". Reefwatch.asn.au. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
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