Fish of the Scorpaena genus of the Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes) family of the suborder Scorpaenoidei of the Scorpaeniformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Black scorpionfish. Photo by © Achille De Sanctis. fisbase.org)
Black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It inhabits the depth of 800 meters. It is a loner species. It prefers to swim close to the rocky or stony algous bottom. The maximum recorded length is 27 cm; specimens up to 15 cm long are more common. The maximum weight is 870 grams. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates.
(Black scorpionfish. Photo by © Stefano Guerrieri. naturamediterraneo.com)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
The spines of the dorsal fin contain venom, which causes severe pain when pricking, and major complications are possible. The venom disintegrates by heat treatment.
Names of black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus) in other languages as follows:
Shkerpi (Albanian), Скорпид (Skorpid), (Bulgarian), Bruine schorpioenvis (Dutch), Μαυροσκορπιός (Mavroskorpios) (Greek), Rascacio (Spanish), Scorfano nero (Italian), Brauner Drachenkopf (German), Rascasso-de-pintas (Portuguese), Skorpena adriatycka (Polish), Scorpie de mare (Romanian), Морской ёрш (Morskoj jorsh) (Russian), Škrpun, Škarpun (Serbian, Croatian), Rjava škarpena (Slovenian), İskorpit balığı (Turkish), Rascasse brune (French), Ropušnice skvrnitá (Czech).