The Scorpaena plumieri

Physical
Adaptations

Some physical facts

• Its giant mouth helps catch small fish and crustaceans.
• Its venomous spine helps it protect itself from predators.
• It camoflages itself in the coral reefs to sneak up behind prey.

Behavioral Adaptations

Some Behavioral facts

• When eating prey, it sucks its prey into its mouth like a giant vacuum.
• When hunting for prey, it camouflauges itself in with its surroundings. For example, a coral reef or debri.
• When camouflaged, it sometimes sways back and forth to resemble a piece of debris.

Its Physical Appearance

Appearance facts

• Coloration: brown or black, head with dark markings, are mostly orangeish or reddish, fins are sometimes green.
• Average size: 17.7 inches
• Average shape: football shaped with really round wide fins
• The Scorpion fish moves around by swimming (Nekton)

Its Interactions within its Environment

Interactions

• The zone in which the Scorpion fish lives is the sunlight zone.
• The Scorpion fish needs to stay in this zone because its prey also live here.
• A map in which you can find where the Scorpion fish lives is on the following website - Marinebio.org/species.asp?id=551

Abiotic Factors of its Interactions

• Average depth: 1 - 60m
• Average temp:Subtropical

Biotic Factors of its Interactions

• Two types of coral that live in its zone: sponges and seafans.
• Three animals that live in its zone: Sharks, Moray Eels, and Rays.

Human Impact

Impact on others

• Humans may sometimes eat them.
• They can also be caught by accident in nets and other equipment.
• They can also be caught illegally by fisherman
• One thing we could do to protect the Scorpion fish is to stop over-fishing.

Food Source and Predators

Eat or Be Eaten

• The Scorpion fish is a carnivore.
• It feeds on small fish and crustaceans.
• To catch its prey, it camouflages in the coral reefs and waits for its prey then sucks it in.
• The Scorpion fish's predators are large snappers, moray eels, sharks, and rays.
• If I were to put it in an energy pyramid, I would put it somewhere in the middle because it is a predator as well as a prey.

Thank you