📸 PhotoPhoto: Photo by Jens Petersen , Edited by User:Olegiwit (cloned in part of fins) and Fir0002 (removed spots and noise) · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Red lionfish
Pterois volitans (Red lionfish · ハナミノカサゴ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 1.4 kg is slightly lighter than a 1.5 L PET bottle (Comparison).
- 💡 Popular as an aquarium fish, it is also caught from the wild for sale (Animal Diversity Web).
- 💡 For stings from its venomous spines, warming the affected area and applying corticosteroids is a known treatment (FishBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The red lionfish is a flamboyant scorpaenid fish living on coral reefs that hides in caves or rock crevices by day and is active at night. It possesses venomous dorsal fin spines.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its head and body bear reddish or golden-brown crossbands, with 13 venomous dorsal fin spines and 14 feather-like pectoral fin rays. Above each eye is a single 'tentacle'-like projection.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
At night it hunts mainly crustaceans and small fish, using its widely spread pectoral fins to corner prey and swallow it in a single gulp. Adults are mostly solitary and defend their territory with their venomous spines.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed in the National List of Species of Korea, and FishBase cites southern Japan and southern Korea as the northern limit of its range.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2016) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/190468/78940195
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4PWVH
- • iucnredlist.org — 78940195
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000058078 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000058078
- • wikidata.org — Q824672
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pterois volitans Manado-e edit.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Pterois-volitans.html
- • animaldiversity.org — Pterois volitans
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.