Sealife guideThe common stonefishSynanceia verrucosa
Taxonomy
- Common name: Common stonefish, reef stonefish
- French name: Poisson pierre commun, synancée verruqueuse
- Spanish name: Pez piedra común
- Scientific name: Synanceia verrucosa (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Family name: Synanceiidae
- Order name: Perciformes
- Class name: Actinopterygii
Description
The common stonefish is an expert of camouflage with its brown or grey coloration potentially dotted with numerous irregular yellowish, orange or red spots. A panoply of colors that gives it the appearance of a stone, even a crusted rock or a block of coral !
The common stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa) © David Sanford | Dreamstime.com
The common stonefish has an ovoid body with a total length of around thirty centimeters long. Its mouth is oriented upwards and its dorsal fin is equipped with 13 very strong defensive spines capable of injecting a very powerful poison.
Range
The common stonefish is widely distributed in the warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea.
It is found in Australia around the Great Barrier Reef and along the eastern coasts of Queensland to the far north of New South Wales.
Habitat
The common stonefish generally frequents rocky or coral bottoms where it lives hidden in crevices or under rocky ledges but it can also be found on sandy bottoms where it buries itself using its large pectoral fins.
Diet
The common stonefish feeds mainly on fish and crustaceans, which it hunts by camouflaging itself in its environment.
A stonefish camouflaged at the foot of a pier hunts on the lookout © Ethan Daniels | Dreamstime.com
The main predators of the common stonefish are sharks and rays.
Did you know ?
The common stonefish has dorsal spines capable of injecting an extremely toxic venom.
The speed with which common stonefish capture prey passing close by is impressive !
The common stonefish is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The common stonefish appears in the IUCN Red List since 2018 within the category Least Concern !
Tips for observing
The common stonefish is particularly hard to spot in its environment, so keep an eye out !
The stonefish's art of camouflage ! © Ethan Daniels | Dreamstime.com
Explore also
Longfin damselfish
(Stegastes diencaeus)
(Stegastes diencaeus)
Citron coral goby
(Gobiodon citrinus)
(Gobiodon citrinus)
Bluescaled wrasse
(Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura)
(Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura)
Indian mackerel
(Rastrelliger kanagurta)
(Rastrelliger kanagurta)
Brown-marbled grouper
(Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)
(Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)
Picarel
(Spicara smaris)
(Spicara smaris)
Weedy scorpionfish
(Rhinopias frondosa)
(Rhinopias frondosa)
Harlequin bass
(Serranus tigrinus)
(Serranus tigrinus)
Our latestUpdates
Wednesday, July 9th 2025
Fort Lauderdale, the Venice of America
Located just 28 miles north of Miami, the city of Fort Lauderdale is a chic yet laid-back destination, nicknamed the Venice of America thanks to its 310 miles of navigable canals. This coastal city, long overshadowed by its southern neighbor, is now emerging as a must-visit spot in South Florida, combining white-sand beaches, refined lifestyle and lush natural surroundings.
Tuesday, July 8th 2025
The big skate
The big skate is one of the largest species of its genus and one of the most distinctive skates along the northeastern Pacific coast. This bottom-dwelling species is easily recognized by two large, dark eyespots on its dorsal surface that resemble prominent eyes.
Monday, May 5th 2025
The California spiny lobster
The California spiny lobster has an elongated body and a hard exoskeleton, usually brown in color with yellow or orange patterns. The California spiny lobster inhabits the temperate waters along the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean, particularly those of California and the Gulf of California.
Photo of the Day
Poisson coffre réticulé
(Ostracion solorensis)
(Ostracion solorensis)
Copyright © 2007-2025 auxBulles.com - All rights reserved. Legal notices.Photo credits - Our partners