Scorpaenopsis possi (Poss’s scorpionfish)
Large head, eyes and pectoral fins, shorter snout than other scorpionfishes. It has 17 pectoral fin rays as opposed to 19-20 with it relatives. No cirri above the eyes, or significantly smaller than the eye itself. Inconspicuous colors such as mottled brown and gray.
Unassessed by the IUCN Red list. Although spread throughout a large area, it is difficult to distinguish from its more famous relatives, and most likely often misidentified.
Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific, French Polynesia, Taiwan and Australia, more common in the Indo-Pacifc. They can be found on rocks, or coral bottoms in a depth range of 2-55 meters.
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Up to 22cm.
They feed on other smaller fish. Scorpionfish are master of disguise, and can easily ambush unsuspecting pray.
Scorpaenopsis possi resembles many features from S. oxycephala, S. papuensis, S. venosa, but the short snout and absent or small eye cirri set them apart from the others.
