lionfish
Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Pterois volitans, also known as red or common lionfish. Picture taken at Tasik Ria, Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Photo by Jens Petersen, Edited by User:Olegiwit (cloned in part of fins) and Fir0002 (removed spots and noise) · CC BY 2.5 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae, order Scorpaeniformes. It is mainly native to the Indo-Pacific region, but has become an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea, as well as along the East Coast of the United States and East Mediterranean and also found in Brazil at Fernando de Noronha. P. volitans and a similar relative, Pterois miles, have both been deemed invasive species. Red lionfish are clad in white stripes alternated with red, maroon or brown stripes. Adults in this species can grow as large as 47 cm (18.5 in) in length, making it one of the largest species of lionfish in the ocean, while juveniles are typically shorter than 1 inch (2.5 cm). The average red lionfish lives around 10 years. As with many species within the family Scorpaenidae, it has large, venomous spines on its dorsal fin (13) as well as other venomous spines on its pelvic fins (2) and anal fins (3).
Wikipedia contributors, Red lionfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:33:49.907426+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- lionfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
- Genus
- Pterois
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderScorpaenoidei
- familyScorpaenidae Risso, 1827
- subfamilyPteroinae Kaup, 1873
- genusPterois Oken, 1817
- speciesPterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pterois. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pterois lunulata Temminck & Schlegel, 1843 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| devil firefishPterois miles (Bennett, 1828) | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pterois russelii Bennett, 1831 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gasterosteus volitans Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159559 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4PWVH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.