Flower Scorpionfish

Subject – Environment

Context – Fish species found only in the Pacific, discovered in the Bay of Bengal

Concept –

A unique, lesser-known fish species that was till now thought to be found only in the Pacific Ocean has been found in the Indian Ocean too.
Hoplosebastes Armatus, also known as the flower scorpionfish, belongs to the order of ray-finned fish that are also known Scorpaeniforme. The Hoplosebastes Armatus was discovered in the Pacific Ocean off Japan almost a century ago in 1929.
The species had not been found in the Indian Ocean.

The length of the species ranged from 75-127 mm, while its body width was from 14-22 mm. The head of the species was comparatively large and greater than the body.
The fresh specimen of the species, caught from the sea, was faint red, he noted. But alcohol specimens were pale yellow colour and formalin specimens were brownish.
The specimen found from the Indian Ocean resembles PJ Schmidt’s specimen that was found in 1929. But it differs in the presence of tentacles on the head, extensive spots on the fins, scale-less maxilla, number of spines on sub-orbital stray, etc.
The rise in the temperature of sea water due to global warming might induce the migration of this species from different regions.