Pontinus castor Poey, 1860

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Pontinus pollux Poey, 1860 / None.FAO names: En - Longsnout scorpionfish; Fr - Rascasse longnez; Sp - Rascacio de fondo.

Diagnostic characters: A snapper-like, spiny-headed scorpionfish with snout longer than eye diameter. Dor-sal fin with 12 spines and 9 1/2 to 11 1/2, but usually 10 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as 1 1/2).Nodorsal-fin spines especially elongated. Usually 17 pectoral-fin rays, all unbranched. Second preopercularspine small or absent.Scales ctenoid (rough to touch).Vertical scale rows 45 to 55.Colour: red or reddish pinkon a pale background; some scattered dusky specks on body and head; fins spotted with red.Size: The largest reported specimen is 260 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Predatory andbottom-dwelling, in depths of about 45 to 400 m,probably on rocky or shell bottom. Not subjectedto a special fishery; caught incidentally as part ofartisanal fisheries throughout its range. Caughtmainly with hook-and-line and traps. Marketedfresh.Distribution: This species has been reportedfrom depths of 45 to 180 m from Bermuda, theBahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Is-lands. It has yet to be reported more widely in theCaribbean.

Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae 1245

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Pontinus helena Eschmeyer, 1965

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Helena scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as1 1/2). Dorsal fin without notably elongate spines. Pectoral fin with 19 or 20 rays, all unbranched. Lacrimalbone with 2 distinct ventrally directed spines. Spines on suborbital ridge 3 or 4. Second preopercular spinesmall or absent. Scales ctenoid (rough to touch). Vertical scale rows about 45. Colour: probably red or pink inlife with a few dark specks or markings on dorsum.Size: The largest specimen reported is 186 mmstandard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: This infre-quently encountered species has been taken intrawls at depths of about 402 m.Distribution: This species remains known onlyfrom the ‘“Gulfo de Triste’, off Venezuela.

1246 Bony Fishes

Pontinus longispinis Goode and Bean, 1896

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Longspine scorpionfish, Fr - Rascasse épineux, Sp - Rascacio espinoso.

Diagnostic characters: Snout relatively short. Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 1/2 soft rays (last split to baseand counted as 1 1/2). Third dorsal-fin spine notably elongate in specimens greater than about 130 mmstandard length. Pectoral fin with 16 to 18 rays (northern populations with mostly 17 and southern popula-tions with typically 17 or 18), all unbranched.Lacrimal bone with 2 ventrally directed spines and usually a smallspine on lateral face posteriorly. Infraorbital bones 2 and 3 (suborbitals) with 1 and 3 spines respectively. Sec-ond preopercular spine small, but rarely absent. Scales ctenoid. Vertical scale rows 45 to 50. Colour: red orpink with dusky, darker red spots or blotches.Size: Reaches 250 mm, common to 200 mm.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: This species occurs over soft or semi-hard substrates; 80 to 440 m and istaken by hook-and-line, longlines, and in trawl fisheries, especially off Colombia and Venezuela, where it is lo-cally abundant.Distribution: First described from the Gulf ofMexico, 28°36’N, 85°33.5’W, in 203 m, this spe-cies appears to be separated into 2 populations,one that extends from South Carolina southwardaround the Florida Peninsula and the Tortugasinto the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi Riverdelta, and southward to off Brownsville, Bahia,Campeche, and Yucatán. A southern populationoccurs at scattered localities from Panama toBrazil. It has not been reported from the Baha-mas or the Antilles.

Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae 1247

Pontinus nematophthalmus (Günther, 1860)

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Pontinus macrolepis Good and Bean, 1896 / None.FAO names: En - Spinythroat scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as1 1/2).Pectoral fin with 15 to 17 rays, usually 16;all unbranched.Lacrimal bone with 2 spines on ventral marginbone, both pointing backward, and a smaller spine on later face of bone in some specimens. Infraorbital bones2 and 3 (suborbital bones) with 1 and 2 spines respectively. Processes often present on ventral margin ofhypohyal bones, visible only when hyoid is depressed.Supraocular cirrus when present long and slender,about twice orbit diameter. Second preopercular spine small, but seldom absent. Scales ctenoid (rough totouch), in 42 to 47 vertical rows. Colour: probably mostly red in life, with few darker or dusky red streaks, oftenarranged in 4 poorly defined saddle-shaped bars below dorsal fin.Size: To 132 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Little is knownabout this infrequently captured species.Occasionally taken in trawls and traps from 86to 402 m.Distribution: This species ranges from the At-lantic coast of Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba,Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Lesser Antil-les, and along the coast from the YucatánPeninsula southward to Honduras, Nicaragua,Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela.

1248 Bony Fishes

Pontinus rathbuni Goode and Bean, 1896

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Highfin scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as 1 1/2).Pectoral fin with 16 to 18, but usually 17 rays, all unbranched. Lacrimal bone with 2 posteroventrally point-ing spines and a small spine often present on its lateral face. Infraorbital bones 1 and 2 (suborbitals) with 1and 2 spines respectively. Supraocular cirrus, when present, usually shorter than orbit diameter and splayeddistally rather than tapered at tip. Scales ctenoid (rough to touch), in about 45 vertical rows. Colour: probablyred in life with dark red or orange spots or dusky smudges on the pectoral and caudal fins; smaller specimenswith dusky saddle-shaped bars along back, becoming more diffuse with growth.Size: To 197 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Almost nothingis known about the biology of this species, ex-cept it appears to be confined to coastal areas indepths of 73 to 366 m.Distribution: This species can be found offCape Hatteras, North Carolina, southward alongthe Florida peninsula to the northern Gulf ofMexico. It has also been reported off Belize, Nic-aragua, Colombia, Venezuela, and theGuyanas.

Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae 1249

Scorpaena agassizii Goode and Bean, 1896

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Longfin scorpionfish, Fr - Rascasse-aîle-longe, Sp - Rascacio chasnete de fondo.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 8 1/2 to 10 1/2 (usually 9 1/2) soft rays (last split to baseand counted as 1 1/2). Pectoral with 18 to 20 rays, usually 19, some branched. Lacrimal bone with 2 spinesover maxillary, both pointing forward, and sometimes 1 or 2 small spines on lateral surface of bone. Infraorbitalbones 2 and 3 (suborbitals) with 1 and 2 spines respectively.Second preopercular spine small.Occipital pit ab-sent or present only as a small depression before parietal spines.Scales cycloid (smooth to touch) in about 45vertical rows. Vertebrae 24. Colour: bright red, with darker red or brownish spots over anterior lateral-linescales, base of dorsal-fin spines, and on and above pectoral fin.Size: To 155 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: This species isfound on soft bottoms of the continental shelf be-tween 50 and 275 m. Common in industrialshrimp and fin-fish trawl fisheries and abundantoff coast of Guyana, but is not usually marketed.Distribution: This predominantly offshore spe-cies is found on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts ofthe USA, southward from North Carolina to theYucatán Peninsula, Honduras, Nicaragua, Pan-ama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname,and Brazil. It has been reported from Bermuda,but this has not been subsequently confirmed.

1250 Bony Fishes

Scorpaena albifimbria Evermann and Marsh, 1900

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Coral scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as1 1/2). Pectoral with 19 to 21 rays, some branched. Lacrimal bone with 2 spines ventrally, both pointing for-ward. Infraorbital bones 1 and 2 (suborbitals) with 1 and 2 spines respectively. Second preopercular spinesmall. Occipital pit shallow. Scales cycloid (smooth to touch). Vertical scale rows about 40. Vertebrae 24. Col-our: brightly coloured, pink to dark red on a pale background;darkly coloured behind head, on pectoral fin, andon body between soft dorsal and anal fins.Size: Reaches 51 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Little is knownof this small species other than it changes its col-oration with age and that it is found inshore atshallow depths to about 31 m.Distribution: This species has been reportedfrom Florida, the Bahamas, Navassa, Haiti, theDominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands,Curaçao, Saint Andrews Island, Barbados, Ber-muda, and the north coast of Colombia at Puntade Betín.

Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae 1251

Scorpaena bergii Evermann and Marsh, 1900

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Goosehead scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 1/2 soft rays (last split to base and counted as 1 1/2).Pectoral fin with 16 to 17 rays, some branched. Occipital pit well developed. Lacrimal bone with 2 spinespointing forward from ventral margin. A single spine at end of suborbital ridge (on infraorbital bone 3).Scales cycloid (smooth to touch). Vertical scale rows 41 to 46. Vertebrae 24. Colour: a dark spot on spinousdorsal fin between spines 3, 4, or 5 to spines 7 or 8;pelvic fin clear but dusky at tip; caudal fin with 3 dark bars, 1at base, 1 near middle, and 1 at distal margin.Size: This species has been said to reach100 mm standard length. However, the largestreported specimen is 68 mm.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Except that theproportions of this species change with size asdoes coloration, little else is known of the biologyof this species, which is found in clear waters atshallow depths of 7 to 73 m.Distribution: Found from New York southwardto Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Haiti,Antigua, Curaçao, Aruba, Grand Cayman Island,the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Panama, the An-tilles, Colombia, and Bahia, Brazil.

1252 Bony Fishes

Scorpaena brachyptera Eschmeyer, 1965

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.FAO names: En - Shortfin scorpionfish.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 soft rays, usually 8 1/2 (last split to baseand counted as 1 1/2).Pectoral fin with 19 or 20 rays, some branched.Lacrimal bone with 2 spines on ventraledge, with first small and arched, both pointing down and slightly forward. Infraorbital bones 1 and 2(suborbitals) forming strong ridge, with 1 (rarely 2) and 2 spines respectively. Nasal bones freely movable,but usually without spines. Occiput pit present, but shallow. Scales cycloid (smooth to touch) in about 40vertical rows. Vertebrae 24. Colour: head red with much dusky and some yellow pigment; iris yellowish red;medial surface of pectoral fin with upper half bright yellow; anal fin red, mottled, with deepest coloration on an-terior half of fin.Size: To 62 mm standard length.Habitat, biology, and fisheries: No fishery ex-ists for this rare species, which is found at depthsof 46 to 155 m. Some specimens have been col-lected over rock-rubble bottoms and others in ar-eas rich in sponges.Distribution: This seldom encountered speciesis so far known from off Florida, the Lesser Antil-les, and off the coasts of Nicaragua, Panama,Colombia, and Venezuela.

Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae 1253

Scorpaena brasiliensis Cuvier, 1829 SBJ

Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Scorpaena stearnsii Goode and Bean, 1882; Scorpaena colesiNichols, 1914 / None.FAO names: En - Barbfish; Fr - Rascasse brésilienne; Sp - Rascacio chasnete rojo.

Diagnostic characters: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 (usually 9 1/2) soft rays (last split to baseand counted as 1 1/2).Pectoral fin with 16 to 20 rays, usually 19, some branched.Lacrimal bone with 2 spine onventral margin, both point forward. Infaorbital bones 2 and 3 (suborbitals) with 1 and 2 often blunt spines re-spectively. Occipital pit present, deep, except in specimens less than 25 mm. Scales in 50 to 60 vertical rows.Vertebrae 24. Colour: body brown above, tan below, with 2 brown spots behind head; small brown spots onmedial surface of pectoral fin.Size: Reaches 250 mm, common to 200 mmHabitat, biology, and fisheries: The most common scorpaenid along northern South American coast onshallow, soft bottoms, usually in less than 50 m, occasionally in coral reef areas. Its venom is potent. It supportsan artisanal fishery primarily from use of beach nets and as bycatch of shrimp trawl fishery. It is usually notmarketed, although the flesh is of good quality.This species is tolerant of low salinities and maybe seasonal in Florida.Distribution: This species is widely distributedin the fishing area. It can be found southwardfrom Virginia, around the Florida peninsula toTexas in the Gulf of Mexico. It is also reportedfrom the Yucatán Peninsula and commonly fromHaiti; also from Cuba, Jamaica, the Virgin Is-lands, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Do-minican Republic, Trinidad, and Rio de Janeiro,Brazil. Its presence in the Bahamas is uncertain.

1254 Bony Fishes

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