262 Hawaiian Fishes 



lines. The head of this fish bears a horn and the tail bears two pairs of 

 spines. This fish is one of the most common horned species and will reach 

 a length of about fourteen inches. 



This species is widely distributed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

 It is found from the Red Sea, Mauretius, and the Bourbons through 

 Ceylon, the East Indies, Japan, Queensland, Melanesia, Micronesia, and 

 Polynesia as far as the Hawaiian Islands. 



THE SCORPION FISH OR ROCK FISH FAMILY 



Also known as the Red Rock Cod Family 

 105 Family Scorpaenidae 



The members of the scorpion fish family are nearly all of fair size 

 and are commonly used as food. One of the distinctive features of the 

 family is the strong bone under the skin which extends from under the 

 eye across the cheek. Many members of the family have venom sacs at 

 the bases of the dorsal spines and some of the species have dermal flaps 

 over their bodies. Many of these fishes are viviparous and gwt birth to 

 the young when the young have reached about one-fourth of an inch 

 in length. 



The members of the family inhabit all seas, but they are especially 

 abundant in the temperate parts of the Pacific where they form a large 

 part of the fish fauna. They are non-migratory and seem to live about 

 rocks. They are easily taken by fishermen from deep water with hook 

 and line. 



Of more than 250 known species, about twenty are known from 

 Hawaiian waters. 



Deep Water Scorpion Fish 



105-1 Peloropsis xenops Gilbert 



This deep water fish is of a bright vermillion color and is spotted 

 with olive-brown, purplish, and yellowish markings. The body was 

 covered with a number of dermal flaps and measured about six inches in 

 length. 



This species is known from a single specimen taken in Auau Channel 

 off Maui and Lanai between 32 and 43 fathoms. 



