Coral reefs are an excellent hiding place for underwater creatures. It is like a human settlement, inhabited by a variety of marine life, such as butterflyfish, clownfish and so on. One of the fish is very special, they seem to be covered with "flags", the appearance is very beautiful, often shuttle through the beautiful coral reefs, they are the scorpion.
Appearance characteristics:
The scorpionfish, also known as the lionfish, "at first glance" does have a bit of an underwater lion's visual sense. It is small, about 25-40 cm, and its yellow body is covered with red-brown staggered stripes. The pectoral fins are pinnate and have poisonous spines on the back. The scorpion has several tentacles above its eyes, which are long and thin, and the fins distributed on its pectoral fin resemble the mane of a lion, which is the main reason why it is called a lionfish. And its many fins also have many poisonous glands, which are the lethal weapons of the scorpion when hunting.
Poisonous glands distributed on the fins of the scorpionfish
At the same time, the beautiful appearance of brilliant spiny fins and bright reddish-brown stripes has also made the scorpion one of the most popular fish in aquariums around the world.
Life Habits:
It is mainly distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and mostly inhabits rocky reefs or coral reefs off the coast in temperate zones. The reef is like a vast underwater labyrinth with plenty of food and hidden hiding places, and the scorpion is a long-term resident here. Reclusive and solitary, the scorpion is used to swim slowly in the dark water at night, and hides in the shadows of corals and rocks when the sun rises. During the day breaks, the head will be lowered and completely stationary.
The scorpion swims slowly
Even if its life habits seem quiet and peaceful, it is actually a very clever marine killer, at the highest level of the food web in the coral reef environment, and the "reputation" of "under the sea terminator". It feeds mainly on crustaceans, invertebrates and small fish. An adult scorpion eats food equal to 8.2 times its own body weight each year.
When preying, it swaggers slowly around the reef, unfolding all the fins of its chest to cover the movement of its tail fins, and its bright colors blend with the reef background, making the hunting operation bold and high-profile, and still not being detected by the prey. When the prey is attracted by its beautiful appearance, it will quietly surround the victim in front of it with its fins, inadvertently and suddenly attack, completing the predation.
The process of feeding on the scorpionfish
After suddenly opening its mouth to devour its prey. Because it is so seamlessly camouflaged and so swift and powerful that other fish along with its prey may not be able to react, the scorpion can continue to hunt other unsuspecting fish.
When in danger, the scorpion will try to open its long fins as much as possible to make itself appear large, while warning the other party with bright colors. Even if it falls into the mouth of a predator, the predator will have difficulty swallowing because of the fins on the scorpion's whole body, spitting it out. Predators are also stabbed by the scorpion's poisonous spines, resulting in poisoning.
The scorpion's menu has more than 30 species of fish, and it can eat a single fish in half an hour, which is second only to the stingray and has almost no natural predators. People are in severe pain after being stabbed, severe cases have difficulty breathing, and even fainting, and the only way to relieve the pain is to rinse with hot water.
Unfold the fins super fierce
After appearing in the Caribbean And Gulf of Mexico more than 10 years ago, the scorpion swallowed hundreds of different species of coral reefs, fish and crustaceans. Even sharks are reluctant to get close to lionfish, causing lionfish to prey on other creatures in large numbers and reproduce rapidly. With no natural predators that have severely damaged the local ecosystem, lionfish are classified by marine scientists as the most serious threat to the Atlantic marine ecosystem.
Moreover, lionfish are extremely fast-breeding fish, with females spawning between 150,000 and 300,000 spawners every 5 days, adapting to different sea depths, ecosystems and environmental conditions.
In response to the "invasion" of lionfish, Americans and Cubans, fearful of their intimidating spiny fins, began to make the fish a dish of food that would protect the ecosystem while enjoying delicious cuisine. To this end, these countries have also developed lionfish cooking guides, and in the Bahamas and Mexico, many restaurants list lionfish as a must-eat souvenir.
In addition, these countries have organized lionfish fishing competitions, and 23,000 invasive lionfish have been killed in the past decade.
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