Venomous spines
The spines on its back can give a very painful sting. They are for defence, not for hunting.
Coral reef
Red lionfish
Pterois volitans
A fish striped in red-brown and white, with long, feathery fins and a row of venomous spines along its back.
- Size
- About 30 to 38cm long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans
Drifts after you, fins fanned out. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Lionfish
Good to know
Six things about the lionfish
Herding its prey
It spreads its fan-like fins to corner small fish, then swallows them in one gulp.
A warning
The bold stripes tell other animals that it is dangerous to touch.
Hanging still
It can hang motionless in the water, even upside down under a ledge.
An invader
Lionfish released from aquariums have spread through the Caribbean, where they eat huge numbers of young reef fish.
A stretchy stomach
Its stomach can stretch to thirty times its normal size.
The real thing
Photos of the lionfish
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Look under ledges and in caves on the reef by day. At dusk it comes out and drifts slowly over the coral.
How to help
In the Caribbean, where they do not belong, divers catch lionfish and restaurants serve them. Never release aquarium fish into the wild.
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