Lionfish

The lionfish—or scorpionfish—has an amazing appearance; its whitish coloring and brown or maroon-red stripes along the length of its body serve as great camouflage. It has fan-shaped pectoral fins with eye-catching featherlike dorsal spines, some which are venomous.

This fish can grow to almost 14 inches (35 cm) in length and is carnivorous, eating small crustaceans and fish. They are very skilled hunters, often disorientating their prey with their physical characteristics: they can camouflage themselves and pounce.

The Lionfish is native to the western Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to South Africa and Indonesia. It is also encountered as an invasive species in the eastern Mediterranean, the east coast of the United States, and the Caribbean Sea as far as Venezuela.