Appearance
Diagnosis: head large; snout as long as orbit diameter, 10% of SL; preorbital bone with 2 large spines over maxilla; sub-orbitals with 2 spinous points; upper post-temporal spine present; first preopercular spine short, second more slender than third; cleithrum with 2 spines; other spines as for the genus. Occipital pit absent. Pores at symphysis of lower jaw separate and small. Supraocular tentacle short, less than half of orbit diameter; a few tentacles on lower preopercular spines, on eye, on some lateral line scales and on some body scales. Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 9 soft rays; pectoral fin with 15-16 rays and not reaching first anal spine. Slightly ctenoid scales on sides of body; 52-56 vertical rows of scales; chest and pectoral fin base with mostly cycloid scales; most of head naked. Vertebrae 24. Gillrakers 15-18, 5 on upper arch. Colour: variable, head brown, mottled with white; body dark with some pale areas; dorsal fin blotched with brown pigment; pectoral fin with elongate dark spots; other fins with brown and white spots. Size: to 15 cm, usually to 10 cm.Naming
SynonymsHelicolenus maderensis (Valenciennes, 1833)
Sebastapistes maderensis (Valenciennes, 1833)
Sebastes maderensis (Valenciennes, 1833)
Sebastipistes maderensis (Valenciennes, 1833)
Scorpaena rubellio Jordan & Gunn, 1898
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Azores, Madeira, and Morocco to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Senegal. Also known from several localities in the Mediterranean Sea.Habitat
Inhabits shallow coastal waters; rocky areas and favours habitats with generous brown algal growth, rocky depressions and ledges and small boulders.Food
Feeds on crustaceans and small fishes.Defense
Anterolateral glandular groove with venom gland.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/10185http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&id=2127