Shy Hawaiian couple

This couple did not come out and pose for nice ID pic. Nevertheless, perhaps someone more familiar with Hawaiian fishes could help?

Another shot of the same couple.

I love these!

They are a dwarf scorpionfish sp. found in Porites, Acropora heads. Lots of these around the Senghe Islands in Indonesia. Also saw them around Komodo National Park. Pretty wide spread.

Proper name evades me but it is listed in various indio-pacific books

They could also be redbanded hawkfish - it's hard to tell from the photo.

On closer inspection they look like Sebastapistes coniorta to me.

Cheers

James

[the second line was added later to demonstrate that it's just plain unfair to go back and edit your post after the fact. James]

No, They are deffinately the scorpionfish

Of the small scorpionfishes mentioned in Lieske&Myers, Speckled scorpionfish (Sebastapistes coniorta) seems like the best match (especially first dorsal fin that is quite spiky), http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSum...esname=coniorta. Range and habitat match as well. Seems they also have several cousins around the Indo-Pacific!

Either (a) Titan Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis cacopsis)

or (B) Speckled Scorpionfish (Sebastapistes coniorta)

Seadeuce

I knew I had a slightly better snapshot lurking somewhere...

Pretty one! The spots are different: small dark vs tiny light. Then again, the coloUrs seem to vary a lot anyhow.

Yes, this is one of the Senghe variants. The Komodo one was more similar to yours, but I had a 12mm lens on!

Bob: Great ID Shot!

Thanks for posting. It's obviously a scorpionfish now.

Cheers

James

I knew I had a slightly better snapshot lurking somewhere...

This one is a Yellow-spotted scorpionfish (Sebastapistes cyanostigma), not to my knowledge found in Hawaii.

I think the hypothesis of a Speckled scorpionfish (Sebastapistes coniorta) is the best one.

Instantly recognisable as the same genus though...Which book did you get the information of the two species? The Debelius IO book lists mine as the speckled!

However the Komodovariant is more similar to JPS' Speckled... That's a much pretty species, but both very cute

wow and my first guess was a rock hind ... but i guess they do have kinda spiney dorsal fins

although some rock hinds do too.

But then again I have only ever seen non dwarf scorpion fish

G

I think these only grow to a length of 3" and their chosen habitat is overlooked by 99% of divers... I only found them whilst looking for leopard and red-spotted coral crabs in Porites heads. If you're in the IndoPacific check out the corals, good place to find those beautiful leopard blenny's too.

Instantly recognisable as the same genus though...Which book did you get the information of the two species? The Debelius IO book lists mine as the speckled!

Yes, the ressemblance of their shape is striking and it's not a surprise that they both belong to the Sebastapistes genus. It's even more evident when you can see them from a profile angle.

The ID books I have that show the Yellow-spotted scorpionfish (Sebastapistes cyanostigma) are

Reef Fish Identification , Tropical Pacific by Allen, Steele, Humann and Deloach

and

Micronesian Reef Fishes, A Field Guide for Diver and Aquarists by Robert F. Myers.

The individual pictured in the last one is almost a clone of the one in your picture. The one in Allen book has lighter shade but the spots are identical.

The ID books that show the Speckel scorpionfish (Sebastapistes coniorta) are

Hawaii's Fishes, A Guide for Snorkelers Divers and Aquarists by John P. Hoover

and

Shore Fishes of Hawai'i by John E. Randall

The drawing of the Yellow-spotted scorpionfish in the Lieske and Meyers book does not give a good idea of what the fish could look like.

To which Debelius ID book are you refering too? The only one I have is the Red Sea one and it shows the Sebastapistes cyanostigma pretty well and there is no reference to the Sebastapistes coniorta?

Clément

I have the Indian Ocean version... Lots of mistakes therein!