Mozambique Scorpionfish, Parascorpaena mossambica (Peters 1855)
Other Names: Golden Scorpionfish
A scorpionfish, Parascorpaena mossambica, at Komodo, Indonesia, August 2008. Source: @perigor2000 / www.whatsthatfish.com/fish/mozambique-scorpionfish/1988. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A mottled reddish to brownish scorpionfish with well-developed tentacles above the eyes.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Parascorpaena mossambica in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3135
Mozambique Scorpionfish, Parascorpaena mossambica (Peters 1855)
More Info
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Distribution |
Recorded in the Australian EEZ from Shark Bay and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef , Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland and reefs in the Coral Sea, to Sydney, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical east-Indo-west-central Pacific. A nocturnal species, usually found in mixed sandy/rubble habitats on reef flats, in shallow lagoons, and reef channels. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin XII, 9-10; Anal fin III, 5; Pectoral fin 15-17; Pelvic fin I, 5. Supraocular tentacles well developed. |
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Remarks |
Motomura et al. (2011) suggested that Australian records of this species may actually be Parascorpaena armata (Sauvage, 1873). |
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Etymology |
The species is named for the type locality, Mozambique. |
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Species Citation |
Scorpaena mossambica Peters, W.C.H. 1855, Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1855: 434. Type locality: Ibo, Mozambique. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Mozambique Scorpionfish, Parascorpaena mossambica (Peters 1855)
References
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.
Fricke, R., Kulbicki, M. & Wantiez, L. 2011. Checklist of the fishes of New Caledonia, and their distribution in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (Pisces). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) Neue Serie 4: 341-463.
Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 1-302.
Motomura, H., Béarez, P. & Causse, R. 2011. Review of Indo-Pacific specimens of the subfamily Scorpaeninae (Scorpaenidae), deposited in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, with description of a new species of Neomerinthe. Cybium 33(1): 55-73.
Motomura, H. & Matsuura, K. 2016. Parascorpaena mossambica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69798315A69800972. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69798315A69800972.en. Downloaded on 25 July 2018.
Peters, W.C.H. 1855. Übersicht der in Mossambique beobachteten Seefische. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1855: 428-466
Peters, W.C.H. 1855. Übersicht der in Mossambique beobachteten Fische. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 21(2-3): 234-282
Poss, S.G. 1999. Families Scorpaenidae, Caracanthidae, Aploactinidae. pp. 2291-2358 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Smith, W.L. & Wheeler, W.C. 2006. Venom evolution widespread in fishes: a phylogenetic road map for the bioprospecting of piscine venoms. Journal of Heredity 97(3): 206-217.
