English Name: Indian lionfish, Soldier turkeyfish
Family: SCORPAENIDAE
Local Name: Fanhaamas
Order: Scorpaeniiformes
Size: Max. 35 cm
Specimen: MRS/0057/86
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 13 spines and 9-11 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 6 rays. Pectoral fin with 13-15 rays. Pectoral fins extending well beyond caudal fin base, the upper rays plume-like. Scales cycloid and small. In adults, many spinules on bones below eye.
Colour: Reddish ortan grey, with numerous thin dark bars on body andhead. Tentacle above eye occasionally faintly banded. Dark spots on fins.
Habitat and Biology: Benthic, to about 60 m.
Distribution: Indian Ocean.
Remarks: Pterois miles was identified as P. rolitans (Linnaeus) in the Catalogue of Fishes of the Maldives Vol.1, page 136. Most ichthyologists now consider P. miles and P. volitans to be sibling species, the former limited to the Indian Ocean, the latter found in the Pacific. However, this distinction is currently
under review.