SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
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Scientific names are used to identify a particular species with specific characteristics. The family, genus and species are Latin and Greek names that describe particular characteristics of an Genus and species names are either italicized or underlined, and the genus is always capitalized. Common names are generally not capitalized.
There are 12 species of lionfish in the Indo Pacific Ocean, two of which have been observed in the Atlantic Ocean. The two lionfish that have become invasive in the Atlantic Ocean, Pterois volitans and P. miles, are compared below: |
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Family: Genus: Species: |
Scientific Name
Scorpaenidae Pterois volitans miles |
Translation
a type of scorpion Greek "pteron" meaning wing Latin "volare" meaning to fly Latin "miles" meaning soldier |
Common Name
Red lionfish Devil firefish or common lionfish |
Dorsal Fin Rays
9-12 9-11 |
Anal Fins Rays
6-8 6-7 |
The two invasive Pterois species are very similar and the only way to confirm the species by observation would be if the lionfish has 12 dorsal soft fin rays and or 8 anal soft fin rays. Otherwise genetic studies are the only way to confirm species. Recent studies have confirmed 97% of the invasive lionfish are P. volitans, or the red lionfish, and 3% are P. miles, the devil firefish (NOAA Lionfish Fact Sheet).
