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Scorpaena plumieri
When I took my course to become a certified scuba diver, our instructor devoted some time to discussion toward being aware of the dangerous animals in the ocean. His advice..."if it is pretty, do not touch it; if it is ugly, do not touch it; if it lets you touch it, do not touch it!" Most think of sharks when discussing threats to swimmers and divers. There are other creatures who are in their own way just as dangerous, if not more so. The scorpionfish pictured above meets that criteria...as well as not very pretty and showing no fear of my approach to within inches of its head. It also would not become aggressive towards me as long as I did not touch...I was being very careful. As the attached Wikipedia article states, "Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish, are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus." The real danger for divers is this creature's ability to camouflage themselves, effectively blending in with the coral reef. The rule of thumb for divers is...hover above the reef, but do not touch. Leave it as you found it. In the event one does reach out to touch the reef...look first, and be careful!
Caribbean Coral Reefs. This was spotted diving off the island of Tobago.
7 Comments
Congrats Jim, your cryptic Scorpionfish has made the top 10 fish spottings in the '2015 Best Wildlife Photo' mission! Rangers are voting on the top 10 fish spottings, and the top 3 will be announced on February 5th. The top 3 spottings will be commented on here on the site, but make sure you keep a look out on our Facebook app page for the announcement as well! Congratulations on making the top 10! https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah
Thanks Lisa and Armadeus...I always appreciate the recognition!
Great spotting Jim! Thank you for the information and for sharing :)
Hi Jim Nelson,
Just wanted to let youknow we used your awesome spotting in our Fact of the Day! Thank you for sharing.
https://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/6...
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...
Grumpy looking guy. Great shots.
Great find Jim,congrats and thanks for sharing
Very impressive!