http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?I...ry=Environment
Lionfish Invaders Are Eating Up Other Marine Life
in Florida Keys, Bahamas and Bermuda.
“The lionfish is a voracious predator and it eats a lot!
... over 50 species of other reef fish have been found in lionfish stomachs
(plus) a whole octopus.” - Lad Atkin, REEF
If attacked, the carnivorous lionfish delivers a potent venom via its needle-like dorsal fins.
Its sting is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties,
but is rarely fatal. Average lifetime in wild: 15 years. A lionfish will often spread its
feathery pectoral fins and herd small fish into a confined space where it
can more easily swallow them. Photograph by NOAA.
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February 25, 2010 Key Largo, Florida - The lionfish is any of several species of beautiful, venomous marine fish of the family Scorpaenidae native to the Indo-Pacific oceans. Lionfish extend from western Australia and Malaysia east to French Polynesia, the Pitcairn Islands, southern Japan and southern Korea.