They are a classic lie-in-wait ambush predators consuming fish and small invertebrates. As of March 31, 2022, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 0.77 kg (1 lb 11 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off San Carlos, Baja California Sur in March 2018. They reach a maximum of 49 cm (19 inches) in length, with a fish that I caught off the beach establishing this record. The Stone Scorpionfish are found from the intertidal zone to depths up to 100 m (330 feet) in weed-covered reefs and open sand rubble areas. Their bodies are covered with large smooth scales. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 5 or 6 rays their dorsal fin has 12 spines and 9 or 10 rays and, their pectoral fins have 18 to 21 rays.
#STONE FISH SKIN#
Their head is very bony with numerous spines and is as broad as it is deep, it is covered with numerous skin flaps, it has medium-sized eyes, and there are shallow depressions (pits) before and after their eyes and a deep pit behind their eyes the ridge below their eyes has 3 or 4 spines. They have disproportionately large mouths. Their dorsal fin typically has 1 prominent black spot however, I have seen fish with as many as four (see photograph above). A key to identification is that the base of their very large pectoral fins are dark with white spots arranged below (see photograph below). Their caudal fin is rounded, ragged, and has dark bars. They have conspicuous barbels under their mouth and abundant skin flaps over their head and body, which afford them the appearance of a seaweed-encrusted rock. They vary significantly in color but are a more or less uniform drab mottled mixture of gray, brown, red, orange, green, and black. The Stone Scorpionfish have spine-laden compressed elongated oval-shaped bodies that taper at both ends that has a body depth that is 36% to 40% of standard length. Globally, there are fifty-nine species in the genus Scorpaena, of which sixteen are found in Mexican waters, ten in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific Ocean. The Stone Scorpionfish, Scorpaena mystes, is a member of the Rockfish and Scorpionfish or Scorpaenidae Family, that is also known as the Pacific Spotted Scorpionfish and in Mexico as escorpión roquero. Photograph courtesy of Kevin Erwin, Seattle, Washington.
Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, September 2021. Photographs courtesy of Ron Wonteau, Zihuatanejo. Stone Scorpionfish, Scorpaena mystes. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, February 2020. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California. Photographs courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuatanejo, Identification of the fish in the first photograph above courtesy of H.J. Stone Scorpionfish, Scorpaena mystes. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuatanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018 thru December 2019. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, February 2018. Fish collected off the beach at Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, November 2014. Catch and photograph courtesy of Doug Bomeisler, Fort Pierce, Florida. Fish caught from shore at El Cardonal, Baja California Sur, August 2020. Photograph of a fish with a four spotted orange dorsal fin – unusual and perhaps indicative of a subspecies or different species! A key for the identification of the species. Stone Scorpionfish, Scorpaena mystes. White spotting on the underside of the pectoral fins. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, July 2019. Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Fish caught from shore off Roca de Ian, Bahia de Los Muertos, Baja California Sur, December 2021. Terrestrial Life – Alphabetical Index by Family.Terrestrial Life – Alphabetical Index by Common Name.Terrestrial Life – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species.Shells – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species.Shells – Alphabetical Index by Common Name.Other Marine Life – Alphabetical Index by Family with Photographs.Other Marine Life – Alphabetical Index by Family.Other Marine Life – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species.
Other Marine Life – Alphabetical Index by Common Name.Fish Weight From Length Conversion Tables.Fish – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species.Fish – Alphabetical Index by Common Name.Crabs – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species.Crabs – Alphabetical Index by Common Name.Birds – Family Photos – Tanagers to Wrens.Birds – Family Photos – Mockingbirds to Swallows.Birds – Family Photos – Eagles to Kingfisher.Birds – Family Photos – Anhinga to Ducks.
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