Description: A rare, medium-sized scorpionfish with a brownish, mottled colouration, a white spot on the upper end of the operculum, and numerous red to brown spots on the cheek. Large spinous head and fan-like pectoral fins.
Global Distribution: Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands.
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: FishBase: maximum length 14.0 cm (total length).
Canary Islands (Gonzalez et al. 2000): maximum length 20 cm.
Behavioural ecology: Usually lies immobile on the bottom, with an occasional swimming burst. Generally solitary, but several individuals may be found nearby.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002): 20 - 130 m.
Habitat: Demersal on rocky bottoms, sometimes in caves.
Feeding habits: Feeds on crustaceans and small fishes.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.5
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Commercially it is not distinguished from other Scorpaena spp.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Brito A., Pascual P.J., Falcón J.M., Sancho A., González G. (2002). Peces de las islas Canarias. Catálogo comentado e ilustrado. Francisco Lemos Editor, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 418 pp.
González J., Hernández C., Marrero P., Rapp E. (2000). Peces de Canarias: GuÃa Submarina (5th edition). Francisco Lemus Editor, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, Spain, 235 pp.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Motomura H.Y., Fricke R., Eschmeyer W.N. (2005). Redescription of a poorly known scorpionfish, Scorpaena canariensis (Sauvage), and a first record of Pontinus leda Eschmeyer from the Northern Hemisphere
(Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) . Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, 674: 1-15.
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
