Tetrarogidae

redskinfish

Ablabys binotatus

Shallow seagrass beds from Tanzania to South Africa

• Red
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Indian Ocean
• Africa
• Deep-bodied
• Medium
• Tropical fish

Resembling a decayed drift leaf swaying rhythmically in coastal swells, the redskin waspfish is a cryptically camouflaged, highly venomous scorpaenoid native to the western Indian Ocean. Its strongly compressed, wafer-thin body displays an arched dorsal outline that begins above the eyes, transitioning into a continuous, sail-like dorsal fin supported by sharp, venomous spines. The body coloration is a rich reddish-brown, cinnamon, or rosy-pink patterned with dark marbling, accented along the flanks behind the operculum by two distinct, dark circular spots that give the species its specific name. Distributed along the western Indian Ocean coast from Zanzibar and Tanzania south along Mozambique to South Africa, it inhabits shallow protected rocky reefs, weed beds, and sandy rubble gutters down to fifty meters depth. A stealthy ambush carnivore, it perches on pectoral fin rays and sways side to side to simulate floating debris before gulping small decapod shrimps and juvenile fishes in an instantaneous suction strike. Maximum recorded total length reaches fifteen centimetres.

Sources: FishBase — Redskin Waspfish, Ablabys binotatus