Find a Fish
Southern Red Scorpionfish
Scorpaena papillosa (Schneider and Forster, 1801)
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
- Size
- 36 cm
- Distribution
- New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand
- Depth
- 0 m - 130 m
Above and below: A Southern Red Scorpionfish at a depth of 5 m, Tathra Wharf, New South Wales, July 2004. Photo © S. Schulz. View larger image.
Head of a Southern Red Scorpionfish collected in New South Wales waters. (CSIRO H 3537-02). The arrows point to the coronal spines. Photo © H. Motomura & L. Conboy (CSIRO). View larger image.
The Southern Red Scorpionfish has a relatively stout body with mottled colouration. It is the only species in the genus Scorpaena that has a pair of coronal spines on the interorbital space (see bottom image).
Scorpaena papillosa is a common species that is often observed by scuba divers.
The species ‘Scorpaena papillosa’ as it is currently used, contains at least four species – one from New Zealand, one from New South Wales and Tasmania (usually in depths greater than 10 m), one from New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria (in depths less than 10 m) and one from Western Australia (a small fish, less than half the adult size of the New Zealand species).
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Red Rockcod fact sheet
- View the Family Scorpaenidae list
- View the Scorpionfishes list
- View the Scorpionfishes of Australia list
Further reading
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2006
Page researched and compiled by
H. Motomura and M. McGrouther, January 2007.
