Species of Thailand
Tassled scorpionfish
Binomial name: Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, Pieter Bleeker, 1849
The tasseled scorpionfish, or Small-scaled scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis oxycephala, is a carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines that lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It can reach a maximum length of 36 cm and can vary considerably in color. Adults are bearded with a number of tassels below the jaw.
They inhabit reef slopes from only 1 to 35 meters. When in shallow waters, swimmers may accidentally tread on them which may cause painful injury from the venomous spines.
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Scientific classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Scorpaeniformes
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
- Genus
- Scorpaenopsis
- Species
- Scorpaenopsis oxycephala
Tassled scorpionfish at Manta Alley
Tassled scorpionfish at Shaab Claudia
Tassled scorpionfish at Nusa Kode
Range map of Scorpaenopsis oxycephala in Thailand
Important note; our range maps are based on limited data we have collected. The data is not necessarily accurate or complete.
Special thanks to Ton Smits and Parinya Pawangkhanant for their help with many range data.
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