Radiata Lionfish (Pterois radiata)
The Radiata Lionfish is a fish with many names, Radial Firefish, Scorpion radiata, Clearfin Lionfish, Clearfin Turkeyfish, Tailbar Lionfish, White-lined Lionfish, Whitefin Lionfish, and Dragonfish . This fish occurs on coral reefs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific. In Australia, the Radiata lionfish is known from central to north-western Western Australia and from the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef south to northern New South Wales and Indian ocean. You can find this fish in lagoons, seaward reefs or rocky reefs, but they do not hang around stony corals. They love to hide under ledges and in narrow caves and crevices during the day.
This deadly creature is dangerous due to it\’s venomous spines. The pelvic, pectoral and dorsal fins of this fish have sacs attached to the spines that house the venom. Their venom is known to cause extreme pain. They also have a reputation for being aggressive by nature.
The Radiata Lionfish have dorsal and pectoral fins the resemble flowing feathers. They are usually a reddish to brownish color and patterned with 5 to 6 thick dark bars separated by pale lines. The Radiata Lionfish distinguishes itself from all the other lionfish from its blank spines and a pair of horizontal white stripes that decorates the tail.
Although they spend their days lounging around, at night they become ferocious predator. They prey on just about any fish they can swallow, but usually this includes shrimps and small crabs.
Information courtesy of life-sea.blogspot.com, reefkeeping.com
Photo courtesy of reefkeeping.com