Scorpaena jacksoniensis
Eastern Red Scorpionfish | Eatern Red Scorpioncod | Fire Cod | Northern Scorpionfish
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Numerous skin flaps on the head and body - usually small, but some individuals have extreme 'growths'. May have large light patch across head behind eyes and/or light bands on the body. Restricted to temperate and subtropical eastern Australian mainland. Distribution overlaps with very similar species S. papillosa. The latter has a more pronounced network of darker scale edges on the body, and fewer (sometimes no) skin flaps on the body. S. jacksoniensis adults seen by divers are larger, bolder and exhibit less cryptic behaviour. Formerly known as S. cardinalis, which is now used for the species found at Tasman Sea islands and New Zealand.
Information
Max Size: 30 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 15.6-24.6°C
Depth: 1-73m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Common (37.9% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland