The clearfin lionfish (''Pterois radiata''), also called the tailbar lionfish, radiata lionfish, fireworks fish or radial firefish, is a carnivorous,

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

with venomous spines belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

, the scorpionfishes and lionfishes. This species lives in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Oceans. This is the only lionfish species which has spines without any markings. It can also be recognized by the pair of horizontal white stripes on its

caudal peduncle Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

Taxonomy

The clearfin lionfish was first formally described in 1829 by the French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

with the type locality given as

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. The specific name ''radiata'' means "radiated" or "rayed", thought to be an allusion to the long pectoral-fin rays, which are free of fin membrane distally.

Description

The clearfin lionfish grows to a length of about , though a more usual size is . The dorsal fin has 12 or 13 long, venomous spines and 10 to 12 soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and five or six soft rays. The large pectoral fins flare out to the side and are clear and unbanded. The other fins are also colourless. The head and body colour is reddish-brown with about six vertical dark bands of different colour on the body separated by thin white lines. Two white horizontal lines occur on the caudal peduncle which distinguishes this fish from other similar lionfishes.

Distribution and habitat

Clearfin lionfish are native to the western Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from South Africa and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

to Indonesia, the Society Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, northern Australia, and New Caledonia. It is found on both inshore and offshore rocky reefs at depths to about . Juvenile fish are sometimes found in

tide pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

Biology

The clearfin lionfish is mainly nocturnal. It spends the day hiding in rock crevices, in small caves, or under overhangs. It emerges at night to feed on invertebrates such as crabs and shrimps.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q652129 clearfin lionfish Marine fish of Northern Australia Taxa named by Georges Cuvier clearfin lionfish