Lion Fish? Scorpion Fish

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the_cat_keeper

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Location
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Saw this fish when we first descended... the viz was quite bad so I couldn't wait for the fish to move to get a better shot (didn't want to lose my buddy).

It looks like a lionfish with the two "horns" but the colour and the shape do not. It's more like a scorpionfish? I flipped through my reef guide but couldn't find a scorpionfish with the "horns".

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/14838/cat/903/page/1

Thanks.
 
Probably a Papuan scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis papuensis . Juveniles usually have long “horns” (cirri) above the eyes, as well as “exaggerated facial skin appendages.” This fish is not confined to Papua New Guinea (as the name may suggest), but can also be found in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Allen, Steene, Humann and DeLoach’s Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific, page 376.
 
Vie:
Probably a Papuan scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis papuensis . Juveniles usually have long “horns” (cirri) above the eyes, as well as “exaggerated facial skin appendages.” This fish is not confined to Papua New Guinea (as the name may suggests), but can also be found in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Vie,

Thanks.

The scorpionfish loses those "horns" (or cirri as you called it) when it reaches adulthood?
 
Jepoy:
It is a scorpion fish and a nice one at that. Where did you shoot this?
Jepoy,

Thanks. :) It's great hearing that... just picked up underwater photography last June. There's so much to learn!

This picture was taken at a dive site called Crista Rei which is east of Dili in East Timor about 2 weeks ago.
 
the_cat_keeper:
Vie,

Thanks.

The scorpionfish loses those "horns" (or cirri as you called it) when it reaches adulthood?

Yes, in the case of Scorpaenopsis papuensis. Some scorpionfish, such as Scorpaenopsis venosa, will retain them into adulthood. Many scorpionfish do not have them at all.
 
the_cat_keeper:
those "horns" (or cirri as you called it)

Cirrus (pl. cirri) Zool. a long slender appendage or filament.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary.
 

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