Oder Scorpaeniformes Family Scorpaenidae(Scorpionfishes or rockfishes) Dwarf lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus(Cuvier, 1829). 17.0 cm TL Korean name/jjalb-eun-nal-gae-ssol-bae-gam-peng(짧은날개쏠배감펭) Japanese name/シマヒメヤマノカミ(Shimahime-yamanokami). Chinese name/短鰭蓑鮋(단기사유) D/spine 13, soft ray 9-10, A/spine 3, soft ray 5. P1/17~18. P2/spine 1, soft ray 5 . Lateral line(측선비늘 수)/23-24. gill rakers(아가미갈퀴)/13-18. Branchiostegal(새조골)/ 7. Vertbae(척추골 수)/24
Distribution; Indo-Western Pacific/Jeju Island in Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Guam, Micronesia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Andaman Sea, Borneo, Indonesia, western, northern and eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, Red Sea, eastern coast of Africa, Madagascar, South Africa. General; Other English common names for the Dwarf lionfish include Short-finned turkeyfish, Shortspine rockcod, and Shortspine scorpionfish. The specific epithet brachypterus means “short finned”. Here, the “short” means that the pectoral fins of Dendrochirus brachypterus are shorter than those of the zebra lionfish(Dendrochirus zebra). The French ichthyologist Cuvier first described Dendrochirus brachypterus and Dendrochirus zebra in the same publication in 1829, where he coined the specific epithet brachypterus from the difference in pectoral fin length between the two species.
Body is elongated and oval, with the head and trunk flattened laterally. A small, blunt spine on the nose. Three spines on the preopercula, which are covered with skin, so that only the posterior end is barely visible. The area between the eyes is concave. There are small bony rigdges above the eyes and on the parietal and on the head side below the parietal and these ridges with small spines. The anterior tips of both jaws end at the same vertical level. Small, rod-shaped or leaf-shaped cortical protrusions on the anterior and posterior nasal bone, above eyes, on midway of upper jaw, and preopcula. Cortical protrusions vary in their development. The posterior end of the upper jaw reaches the posterior margin of the eye. There are teeth on both jaws and the palatine bone, but none on the palatine bone. The lateral line is complete, starting from a position shifted toward the back and curves downward, passing through the center of the peduncle. Both head and trunk are covered with ctenoid scales.
The membranes of dorsal fin spines have deep notch between the next spine and the anterior spines have deeper notch. The spine membranes extended broadly to side from the very top. The spine rays have several black spots arranged up and down. The spine membranes with serrated edge. The dorsal fin origin is located much farther forward than the posterior end of the gill cover. The base of the dorsal fin spine is much longer than the base of the soft rays. The origin of soft rays dorsal fin is behind the origin of the anal fin, and posterior end of anal fin base is ahead of posterior end of soft dorsal fin. The longest dorsal fin spines are shorter than the body height.
The pectoral fin origin is slightly below the center of body, and the rear end extends beyond the posterior end of anal fin base. The lower soft rays(about 8) of pectoral fin are unbranched, and the upper soft rays(about 10) are branched. The lower unbranched soft rays are relatively deeply notched, but the upper branched rays are not. The back of the caudal fin is rounded.
The color varies greatly within the red range. Red oblique bands from eye to middle of the upper jaw and to posterior upper jaw. Sometimes the ground color is very light and with 3 to 5 deep red bands larger than the eye diameter, and sometimes the base color is dark and the bands on the body are reduced to 3 or less but their width is greatly expanded. Sometimes the overall color is complexly mottled brown to reddish brown. Paired fins with bands; median fins with small dark spots. Pectoral fins with distinct 8-10 dark bands.
Biology/Dendochirus brachypterus is a nocturnal predator of small crustaceans. Found at depths between 1 and 80m(3 ft 3 in and 262 ft 6 in) in reef flats and shallow lagoons, where there are weed-covered rocks on sandy substrates. The adults are fequently found on sponges while small aggregations of up to 10 juveniles frequent reef outcrops. During the day it is known to shelter in caves and crevices and among sponges. The males and females form pairs to mate and the females have specialised structures on the ovaries, these include stalk-like egg creating lamellae and secretory cells in the epithelium. The Dwarf Lionfish has 13 venomous dorsal-fin spines along the back that may cause a very painful wound. Dendochirus brachypterus is used as a food fish in some subsistence fisheries. It is occasionally seen in the aquarium trade, it has laid eggs in captivity but raising the young has proved very difficult.
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