Scorpaena porcus, Black scorpionfish : fisheries, aquarium

Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758

Black scorpionfish
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Image of Scorpaena porcus (Black scorpionfish)
Scorpaena porcus
Picture by Hernández-González, C.L.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopteri (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes/Scorpaenoidei (Scorpionfishes) > Scorpaenidae (Scorpionfishes or rockfishes) > Scorpaeninae
Etymology: Scorpaena: Latin, scorpaena = a kind of fish, 1706 (Ref. 45335).  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; non-migratory; depth range ? - 800 m (Ref. 4570).   Temperate; 55°N - 25°N, 32°W - 42°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: British Isles to the Azores, and the Canary Islands, including Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 14.4, range 10 - ? cm
Max length : 40.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 33903); common length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 870.00 g (Ref. 40637)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 4 - 6. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D XII,7-9 with the last divided at base; pectoral fin rays 16-18, uppermost branched pectoral fin ray is usually the third (rarely second to fourth); lacrimal usually with 2 spines over maxilla that point at nearly right angle from each other, posterior pointing ventrally and slightly anteriorly; occipital pit is well-developed; anteriormost mandibular lateral line pores are widely separated; scales small, emarginate, no distinct ctenii; scale rows in longitudinal series 56-60; no scales on chest and pectoral fin base; cirri well developed over entire head and body, no cirri on lower jaw (Ref. 122805).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Solitary and sedentary. Common among rocks and algae. Feeds on small fishes (gobies, blennies), crustaceans and other invertebrates (Ref. 4570).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Fricke, R., D. Golani, B. Applebaum-Golani and U. Zajonz, 2018. Scorpaena decemradiata new species (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) from the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, a species distinct from Scorpaena porcus. Scientia Marina 82(3):1-16. (Ref. 122805)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 123251)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 July 2014

CITES (Ref. 123416)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 11.2 - 15.8, mean 13.9 °C (based on 232 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01349 (0.01199 - 0.01518), b=3.02 (2.99 - 3.05), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 6.4 (5.5 - 6.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 14 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.2-0.5; tmax=8).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 43.4 [22.9, 94.6] mg/100g ; Iron = 0.275 [0.179, 0.502] mg/100g ; Protein = 18.3 [16.9, 19.7] % ; Omega3 = 0.874 [0.413, 2.276] g/100g ; Selenium = 20.1 [10.2, 44.2] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 20 [7, 52] μg/100g ; Zinc = 0.55 [0.39, 0.79] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.