Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio

Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial bait salesmen of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, January 2008. Length: 5.0 cm (2.0 inches).

Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio, juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, March 2016. Length: 10.0 cm (3.9 inches).

Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, May 2014. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches).

Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, February 2015. Length: 31 cm (12 inches). Note the most unusual atypical head decor.

The Player Scorpionfish, Scorpaena histrio, is a member in the Rockfish and Scorpionfish or Scorpaenidae Family, that is also known as the Bandfin Scorpionfish and in Mexico as escorpión juguetón. Globally, there are fifty-nine species in the genus Scorpaena, of which sixteen are found in Mexican waters, ten in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific Ocean.

The Player Scorpionfish has a spine-laden compressed elongated oval-shaped body with a body depth that is 30% to 36% of standard length. They vary significantly in color and feature various shades of mottled reds and browns. The key to identification is a black blotch, occasionally with an orange center, on the lateral line above the middle of their pectoral fins. Their anal and caudal fins have bars with 3 white stripes for which they are named. Their head is enlarged, depressed, bulbous, very bony with numerous spines, and is deeper than it is broad. Their head and body are covered with numerous skin flaps. They have medium-sized eyes. There is a shallow depression (pit) before and after their eyes and the ridge below their eyes has one spine. Their gill cover has 5 well-developed spines with the first being the longest. Their fins are large with the anal fin having 3 spines and 5 rays; their caudal fin is slightly rounded; their dorsal fin has 12 spines and 10 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 19 to 20 rays. Their bodies are covered with smooth scales.

The Player Scorpionfish are solitary individuals found at depths between 6 m (20 feet) and 200 m (660 feet) within rocky structures and rubble bottoms. They reside on the bottom during daylight hours but become voracious predators during the night, feeding on small crabs, small fish, octopus, and shrimp. They reach a maximum of 27 cm (11 inches) in length, with this length established by a fish that I caught. The Player Scorpionfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Player Scorpionfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from the extreme northwest coast of Baja and from the northern third of the Sea of Cortez.

The Player Scorpionfish can be confused with the Peruvian Scorpionfish, Scorpaena afuerae, the Rainbow Scorpionfish, Scorpaenodes xyris, and the Red Scorpionfish, Pontinus furcirhinus, however all three lack the black-orange spotting above the pectoral fin on the lateral line.

From a conservation perspective the Player Scorpionfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are generally too small and difficult to handle, thus are mostly a “catch and release”. Caution: As with all Scorpionfish, the Player Scorpionfish should be treated as “hazardous” and released as soon as possible, being careful not to allow their poisonous spines to penetrate the skin.