devil scorpionfish
Scorpaenopsis diabolus (Cuvier, 1829)
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.
False stonefish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus), Mauritius
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Scorpaenopsis diabolus, the false stonefish, false scorpionfish or the devil scorpionfish, is a species of venomous marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It has venomous spines and lives in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as in the Red Sea. It is a bottom-dwelling predator that relies on its camouflage to catch passing prey.
Wikipedia contributors, Scorpaenopsis diabolus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:24:54.450366+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scorpaenopsis diabolus (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- devil scorpionfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Scorpaenidae
- Genus
- Scorpaenopsis
- 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
- subfamilyScorpaeninae Risso, 1827
- genusScorpaenopsis Heckel, 1837
- speciesScorpaenopsis diabolus (Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scorpaenopsis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Scorpaenopsis altirostris Gilbert, 1905 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis barbata (Rüppell, 1838) | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis brevifrons Eschmeyer & Randall, 1975 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis cotticeps Fowler, 1938 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis gilchristi (Smith, 1957) | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis lactomaculata (Herre, 1945) | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis macrochir Ogilby, 1910 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis neglecta Heckel, 1837 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis obtusa Randall & Eschmeyer, 2002 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis papuensis (Cuvier, 1829) | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis pluralis Randall & Eschmeyer, 2002 | ScorpaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpaenopsis possi Randall & Eschmeyer, 2002 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Scorpaena diabolus Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Scorpaenopsis diabola (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Scorpaenopsis catocala Jordan & Evermann, 1903 Jordan & Evermann, 1903 | synonym |
| Scorpaena diabolis (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolis (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | 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=218110 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:4VWX4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.