Scorpion fish, possibly juvenile, with very unique coloring in Florida

[dianna912]

This scorpionfish was spotted at the Blue Heron Bridge in May. I've never seen a coloration like this, and I'm really curious what species it may be. Has anyone else spotted a similar scorpionfish in the Caribbean? Bonus points if you have photos, since our photos aren't the greatest. Thanks!

 

[T.C.]

Yes, I've seen a Scorpionfish like that before; They're called a Dwarf Scorpionfish; I've seen them in the Flower Garden Banks in Texas.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I do not believe it's a dwarf, rather than just a very small one.
Here's one off Pompano Beach a couple weeks ago, about 1"

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

This scorpionfish was spotted at the Blue Heron Bridge in May. I've never seen a coloration like this, and I'm really curious what species it may be. Has anyone else spotted a similar scorpionfish in the Caribbean? Bonus points if you have photos, since our photos aren't the greatest. Thanks!

I *think* that's a mushroom scorpionfish. The curved tail is usually the giveaway

 

[dianna912]

I *think* that's a mushroom scorpionfish. The curved tail is usually the giveaway

Thanks so much! The one thing that is making me question the mushroom scorpionfish is the lack of the mushroom eye flaps. I did find a very old study (1965, I believe) that had a fairly robust comparison between our scorpionfish, and it turns out that S. Inermis and S. Calcaratta, the "Smoothhead" scorpionfish, have extremely similar appearance, with the exception of the eye flaps, and the head length is slightly larger on the mushroom (Inermis). My pre-dorsal length appears to be just below 40% of the standard length, which makes me think this may be the smoothhead. Unfortunately, I can't find very few images to compare it to, although STRI shows prolific distribution in Florida.

 

[dianna912]

Scratch that, sorry. The pectoral fin shape is actually very different between the two species, and this one def matches the Mushroom scorpionfish more closely.