Oder Scorpaeniformes Family Scorpaenidae(Scorpionfishes or rockfishes) Small mouth scorpion fish Scorpaena miostoma(Günther, 1877).20cm TL Korean name/Zzu-gul-gam-peng Japanese name/kokuchi-fusakasago D/spine 12, soft ray 9, A/spine 3, soft ray 5~6. P1/16-17(6-7+10). P2/spine 1, soft ray 5. Branchiostegal/7, Gill rakers/11-15, Vertbae/24. LLP/23~25
Distribution; Northwest Pacific/Southern Sea of the Korean Peninsula (Jeju Island, Pohang, Dokdo Island, Busan, Yeosu, Wando, Gunsan), south of central Japan, Taiwan, and China. General; The body is long and oval. The head is depressed and the body is compressed. The head is large. The beginning part of dorsum behind the eye is not raised as high as in other closely related species. The eyes are large and skewed as high as the dorsal edge of the head. There is a feather-like flap above the eye. The mouth is small, and the posterior end of the upper jaw reaches below the middle of the eye. The mouth cleft is oblique upward.
The body is covered with ctenoid scales. The scales in front of the base of the pectoral fin very small. The lateral line curves downward in front and then becomes straight behind, reaching the base of the caudal fin.
The origin of the dorsal fin is well in front of the posterior margin of the gill cover. The margin of the dorsal fin spines is rounded, and the 4th or 5th spines are the longest. The membranes of the dorsal fin spines are deeply notched in the anterior ones and shallowly notched in the posterior ones. The last dorsal fin spine is longer than the previous one. The beginning of the soft ray of the dorsal fin is slightly in front of the origin of the soft ray of the anal fin.
The pectoral fin is broad and rounded, placed on the lower side of the body, and ending well before the origin of the anal fin. The upper rays of the pectoral fin are branched and have no membrane notches. The lower rays of the pectoral fin are unbranched and have minimal membrane notches. There is no cortical projection on the body just above the base of the pectoral fin.
The body is red, the ventral side is lighter in color, and dark brown spots are scattered on the sides of the body. Each fin is light-colored, with dark brown or reddish brown moiré spots. There is a description that there is a small, unclear black spot between the 6th and 8th spines of the male's dorsal fin or behind the 7th spine, but it is difficult to identify it among the complex spotted patterns of a living individual. The anal fin and caudal fin have red transverse stripes, and the pectoral fin has red or brown spots scattered. When living in the ocean, it is very difficult to identify the species because the color appearance changes in countless ways depending on the environment.
Inhabits shallow waters near rocks or sandy bottoms. Often ambush small fish and crustaceans to feed. Oviparous. There are venom glands under the spines of the dorsal fin, making it a dangerous creature in the sea.
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