Portrait of a scorpionfish - Photos

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. When in shallow waters, swimmers may accidentally tread on them which may cause painful injury from the venomous spines. The Tassled scorpionfish has unique vibrant orange colors and markings that allow it to camouflage itself well in between the rocky reefs. Its well-camouflaged skin enables it to hide and wait for prey to pass by to strick it.