Reef Fish
Lionfish
Pterois volitans · Bony fish — family Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes); the red lionfish, with the near-identical Pterois miles sharing the story
A lionfish hunting at dusk is theater — pectoral fins flared into banded fans, herding small fish into corners before an engulfing strike measured in milliseconds. Across its native Indo-Pacific and Red Sea range it is a modest, mostly solitary predator kept in balance by its ecosystem. In the western Atlantic it became something else: introduced off Florida in the 1980s, lionfish spread through the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and down to Brazil with no effective predators, eating juvenile reef fish at damaging rates. Many destinations now run sanctioned culls, and lionfish turn out to be excellent eating once the venomous spines are removed. Divers see them hovering under ledges and wrecks by day, often upside down against the ceiling, trusting their spines completely.
どこで・いつ見られるか
「常駐（Resident）」とは、そのダイビングスポットでのほとんどのダイブで遭遇できることを意味します。「季節限定（Seasonal）」とは、記載された月に確実に見られることを意味します。それ以外の出会いはボーナスであり、計画の前提にはなりません。
| 目的地 | 信頼性 | 月 | メモ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raja AmpatIndonesia | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Sharm El Sheikh & Ras MohammedEgypt | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| CozumelMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| BonaireBonaire | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Similan Islands & Richelieu RockThailand | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| RoatánHonduras | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Florida KeysUnited States | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて |
ベストな月、一目でわかる
理解を深める
ハビタット: Reef ledges, wrecks, pilings, and lagoon patch reefs; in the invaded Atlantic it also thrives far deeper than most divers go.
分布域: Native to the Indo-Pacific and (as Pterois miles) the Red Sea; invasive across the western Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico since the 1980s–2000s, with Mediterranean spread underway.
生態・行動: Slow, confident, and mostly crepuscular; hovers under overhangs by day, often inverted, relying entirely on venomous spines for defense.
食性: Small fishes and crustaceans herded against the reef and engulfed whole.
サイズ: 目安は 0.3 m; 確認済みの最大記録 0.47 m (total length; invasive Atlantic fish often grow larger than those in the native range).
出会ったときの正しいふるまい方
In the native range, observe like any scorpionfish. In the invaded Atlantic, leave removal to trained, locally sanctioned hunters and report sightings where destinations ask for them.
保全
Secure as a species; the conservation problem is the Atlantic invasion, managed by culling because eradication is no longer considered possible.
目撃情報で知られるダイブサイト
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