9/18/23, 4:25 PM lionfish -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

lionfish
lionfish, (Pterois), also spelled lion fish or
lion-fish, also called turkey fish or fire-fish,
any of several species of showy Indo-Pacific
fishes of the scorpion fish family,
lion-fish Scorpaenidae (order Scorpaeniformes).
Lionfish are noted for their venomous fin
spines, which are capable of producing painful, though rarely fatal,
puncture wounds. The fishes have enlarged pectoral fins and elongated
dorsal fin spines, and each species bears a particular pattern of bold,
zebralike stripes. When disturbed, the fish spread and display their fins and,
if further pressed, will present and attack with the dorsal spines.

One of the best-known species is the red

lionfish (Pterois volitans), an impressive fish
sometimes kept by fish fanciers. It is striped
with red, brown, and white and grows to
red lionfish about 30 cm (12 inches) long. The red
lionfish is native to South Pacific reef
ecosystems.

In the early 21st century the red lionfish

red lionfish
became established in reef ecosystems along
the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, in
the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean
Sea. Its rapid rate of reproduction, combined
with the absence of natural enemies in those
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9/18/23, 4:25 PM lionfish -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

regions, resulted in its decimation of local

reef fishes and its designation as an invasive
species. Wildlife managers suspect that
lionfish were deliberately released by pet
red lionfish owners into the ocean along Florida’s
Atlantic coast starting in the 1980s, but damage to pet stores caused by
Hurricane Andrew in 1992 may have also allowed others to escape.

These western Atlantic habitats were also

invaded by another lionfish species, Miles’
firefish (P. miles; also called the devil
firefish). Miles’ firefish is native to the Indian
lionfish Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, but
by 2016 it had also established at least one
breeding population along the southern coast of Cyprus. Scientists suspect
that the species entered the Mediterranean basin through the Suez Canal.

Several smaller Indo-Pacific scorpaenids of the genus Dendrochirus, such

as the greenish to pinkish D. barberi of Hawaii and the reddish D. zebra of
the Indian and Pacific oceans, are also considered lionfish by some sources.
This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.

Citation Information
Article Title: lionfish
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 14 July 2023
URL: https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/animal/lionfish
Access Date: September 18, 2023

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