Fish of the Scorpaena genus of the Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes) family of the suborder Scorpaenoidei of the Scorpaeniformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Red scorpionfish. Photo by © Pedro Niny Duarte(c)ImagDOP. fishbase.org)
Red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It inhabits the depth of 20-500 meters, usually up to 150 meters. It is a loner species. It prefers to swim close to the rocky, sandy and oozy bottom. The maximum recorded length is 50 cm; specimens up to 30 cm long are more common. The maximum weight is 3 kilograms. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
(Red scorpionfish. Photo by © Fernando Herranz Martín. fishbase.org)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
The spines of the dorsal fin contain venom, which causes severe pain when pricking, and major complications are possible. The venom disintegrates by heat treatment.
Names of red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) in other languages as follows:
Shkerpi i kuq (Albanian), Rode schorpioenvis (Dutch), Σκορπίνα (Skorpina), Κόκκινος σκορπιός (Kokkinos skorpios) (Greek), Cabracho (Spanish), Scorfano rosso (Italian), Großer Roter Drachenkopf (German), Skorpena pospolita (Polish), Rascasso-vermelho (Portuguese), Scorpie de mare roșie (Romanian), Золотистая скорпена (Zolotistaja skorpena) (Russian), Škrpina, Škarpina (Serbian, Croatian), Rdeča bodika (Slovenian), Lipsoz (Turkish), Rascasse rouge (French).