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Scorpion Fish Facts - Scorpaena cardinalis
The eastern red scorpionfish, grandfather hapuku, New Zealand scorpionfish, or New Zealand red rock cod, Scorpaena cardinalis, are scorpionfish of the family Scorpaenidae, found in New Zealand and southern Australia.
The family Scorpaenidae contains some 45 genera and 380 known species.They are a family of fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species, including the stonefish. A scorpionfish sting causes intense pain and swelling at the site of the sting. Swelling can spread to affect an entire arm or leg within minutes.
Scorpionfish have large, heavily ridged and spined heads. They have venomous spines on their back and fins with a groove and venom sack. They are well camouflaged with tassels, warts and colored specks. Some scorpionfish can change their color, blending in with their surroundings allowing them to remain unnoticed by their prey until the last second.
Scorpionfish are mostly bottom-dwellers, feeding on crustaceans and smaller fish. They are found in shallow waters to very deep at over 2,000 metres. They are more active at nightime, whilst during the day Scorpionfish generally sit and wait patiently for prey to pass them by before attacking. Their wide mouths allow them to eat surprisingly large prey compared to their own body size, swallowing their prey whole. This wide mouth also creates a vacuum which sucks their prey in with incredible speed.
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This large grandfather groper (scorpion fish), caught off Auckland, is now resident at the Island Bay Marine Education Centre
Scorpionfish are not aggressive to non prey, but if threatened they will erect their dorsal spines. If danger continues they flee, usually very fast but only for a short distance and then quickly settle back and freeze.
The Scorpionfish, when reproducing, produces a floating, gelatinous mass in which its eggs are embedded.
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