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Scorfano Nero, Black scorpionfish, Redfish Black, Scorpaena Porcus, intotheblue.it
Black scorpionfish, Redfish Black, Scorpaena Porcus. We have already met the Black Scorpion, in this video we took it very closely from 10 to 5/6 cm. This fish is very confident in its ability to camouflage and as we can see it remains motionless almost to the touch. It can be recognized by the eyes and in this case by the dorsal fins erected as defense. These in fact in contact inject a rather powerful poison, for this reason the scorpion has few predators and escapes only when the threat is very close. The black scorpion fish possesses venom glands placed under the spines of the dorsal and anal fins, so it is advisable to observe it and not touch it, accidental punctures are possible: in these cases a strong pain occurs, sometimes with the appearance of nausea, vomiting and shock. However, it remains a very easy fish to observe and photograph once used to identify it thanks to the incredible camouflage.
Like all fish belonging to the Scorpaenidae family, even the black scorpionfish has venom glands placed under the spines of the dorsal and anal fins. Aware of its dangerousness and phenomenal ability to blend in between the rocks, this fish gets very close, in the movie you can see that I practically approached with the camera until it almost touched it, and remained motionless for a few minutes (probably also confused and dazzled by the light) but, as soon as the safety distance was exceeded, he moved a few centimeters away arching the poisonous spines to defend himself.
Bites are almost always accidental (especially among fishermen and divers) and occur because the divers do not notice the presence of the Scorpionfish completely camouflaged with the environment. The punctures are therefore quite frequent and in these cases a strong pain occurs, sometimes with the appearance of nausea, vomiting and shock. The symptomatic treatment consists in immersing the wound in hot water, since the toxin is thermolabile. However, an antibiotic treatment is recommended (sometimes the wound can go into necrosis) and tetanus.
Immobility and camouflage as well as a defense are also the main hunting strategy. The Scorpionfish in fact feeds on crustaceans, invertebrates and small fish (Gobiidi, Blennidi), which it captures with a rapid movement of the protractile mouth. It awaits its immobile prey, perfectly camouflaged with the surrounding environment. Scorfano Nero Black scorpionfish intotheblue.it
