Waspfishes

Related FAQs: Waspfishes, Lionfishes & their Relatives,

Related Articles: Spiky characters; An introduction to the spiny, sluggish oddballs of the families Batrachoididae and Tetrarogidae by Neale Monks, Keeping Lionfishes and their Scorpaeniform Kin by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner,

/A Diversity of Aquatic Life

The Waspfishes, Leaf Fish or Sailback Scorpionfishes

(Family Scorpaenidae, subfamily Tetraroginae)

Bob Fenner

Ablabys taenionotus

Subfamily Tetraroginae: Eleven plus genera (Ablabys, Amblyapistus, Centropogon, Cottpistus, Neocentropogon, Notesthes, Ocosia, Parcentropogon, Tetraroge, Vespicula) of thirty five species. Very venomous. Mostly marine, with the Australian eastern coastal Notesthes robusta being able to be kept in hard, alkaline freshwater.

Very venomous... as their affiliation with the Scorpionfishes alludes to... Distinguished from this group by having their dorsal fins originate high on the head.

Ablabys taenionotus (Cuvier 1829), the Cockatoo Waspfish. Tropical West Pacific; Indonesia, Philippines, Australia. To six inches in length. Found on sand and mud bottoms. N. Sulawesi photos.

Bigger PIX: The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

Hypodytes rubripinnis Temminck & Schlegel 1843. Northwest Pacific; Japan, Philippines. To four and a quarter inches in length. Aquarium photos.

Notesthes robusta (Gunther 1860), the Bullrout. Queensland, New South Wales, Australia. Freshwater, brackish, marine. Best kept in brackish or marine settings. To ten inches in length.

Paracentropogon longispinis (Cuvier 1829), Wispy Waspfish. To 8 cm. Indo-West Pacific; Thailand, Indonesia, Australia. Nocturnal for the most part. N. Sulawesi pic.