What is this fish?

[subakiwi]

I took these photos of this fish whilst diving in Wellington, New Zealand last week and have never seen it before. I described it to someone and they told me it was a stonefish but it doesn't look like the photos of stonefish that I've seen.

Can anyone tell me what it is?

 

[corglacier7]

Hi Kiwi,
Not a Kiwi myself, but I'm an ichthyology grad student, and my guess on glancing at it...probably something in Order Scorpaeniformes (rockfish, sculpins, etc.). Don't have any kind of ID manual for that sort of thing, but let me do some browsing, unless a local diver can just ID it on the spot?

 

[donnyb]

Heliocolenus percoides

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Heliocolenus percoides

Oh Come On! Give something a little easier for us slow kids.... Now I have to go to Google.....

 

[Bussy]

Perhaps Painted Scorpionfish but the dorsal is a bit odd.