Misplaced Pages

Inimicus didactylus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Scorpaenidae
Genus:	Inimicus
Species:	I. didactylus
Binomial name
Inimicus didactylus (Pallas, 1769)
Synonyms
Scorpaena didactyla Pallas, 1769

Inimicus didactylus, also known as sea goblin, demon stinger or devil stinger or red sea walkman, is a Western Pacific member of the Inimicus genus of venomous fishes, closely related to the true stonefishes. It can reach a body length of 25 cm (10 in) and is irregularly surfaced with spines and a knobby appearance. The fish has venomous spines to ward off enemies. The fish are nocturnal, and often dig themselves partially into the sandy seabed during the day. The body is red or sandy yellow and well camouflaged on sandy and coral seabeds.

Taxonomy

Inimicus didactylus was first formally described as Scorpaena didactyla in 1769 by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, with the type locality given as the Indian Ocean, thought to be Indonesia. The specific name didactylus means "two fingered", an allusion to the two detached, lowest pectoral fin rays.

Physical description

Inimicus didactylus adults can attain a body length of up to 26 centimeters in length. The body color is red or sandy yellow with light blotches, and very similar to that of the surrounding sandy or coral seabed in which they are found. This coloration acts as a camouflage which renders them extremely difficult to detect in their natural habitat. The skin is without scales except along the lateral line, and is covered with venomous spines and wartlike glands which give it a knobby appearance. The head is flattened, depressed and concave. The eyes, mouth and nostrils project upwards and outwards from the dorsal aspect of the head. Sexual dimorphism is not believed to occur in this species.

Fin morphology:

• dorsal fin: composed of 15 to 17 spines and 7 to 9 soft rays.
• caudal fin: composed of 2–4 spines and 4-14 soft rays, with dark bands at basal and subterminal positions.
• pelvic fin: composed of one spine and 3–5 soft rays.
• pectoral fin: composed of 10–12 rays. The two most caudal rays of each pectoral fin are detached from the rest of the fin, and angled in a ventral direction. The fish employ these two rays to prop up the forward part of their body, as well as to "walk" along the bottom of the substrate. The ventral surface of the pectoral fins bears broad black bands containing smaller, lighter spots at the basal and distal ends. In I. filamentosus, these bands are attenuated, while the bands of I. sinensis have yellow spots on them. This is a key feature for distinguishing the two species, which are otherwise nearly identical.

Behavior

Inimicus didactylus is a piscivorous ambush predator. It is nocturnal and typically lies partially buried on the sea floor or on a coral head during the day, covering itself with sand and other debris to further camouflage itself. It has no known natural predators. When disturbed by a scuba diver or a potential predator, it fans out its brilliantly colored pectoral and caudal fins as a warning. Once dug in, it is very reluctant to leave its hiding place. When it does move, it displays an unusual mechanism of subcarangiform locomotion — it crawls slowly along the seabed, employing the four lower rays (two on each side) of its pectoral fins as legs. Its dorsal spines are venomous.

See also

• Ambush predator
• Demersal fish

References

1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Inimicus didactylus". FishBase. February 2022 version.
2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Inimicus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
3. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 March 2022). "Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataceidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
4. Mandritsa, S.A. (1991). "New species of the genus Inimicus (Scorpaeniformes, Synanceiidae) from the Coral sea". J. Ichthyol. 31 (2): 76–79.
5. ^ William A. Gosline (July 1994). "Function and structure in the paired fins of scorpaeniform fishes". Journal Environmental Biology of Fishes. 40 (3): 219–226. doi:10.1007/BF00002508. hdl:2027.42/42637. S2CID 30229791.
6. ^ World Database of Marine Species: Spiny devil fish Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 03-22-2010.
7. ^ Scott Michael (Winter 2001). "Speak of the devil: fish in the genus Inimicus" (PDF). SeaScope. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
8. ^ WetWebMedia.com: The Ghoulfish/Scorpion/Stonefishes of the Subfamily Choridactylinae (Inimicinae), by Bob Fenner. Accessed 03-27-2010.

External links

• Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2008. The Animal Diversity Web (online): Inimicus. Accessed March 21, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.org.
• Photos of Inimicus didactylus on Sealife Collection
• Longsnout Stingerfish @ Fishes of Australia

v t e Fish
About fish	Diversity Ethnoichthyology Evolution Diseases and parasites Fishing Fisheries Environmental impact of fishing - as food Fear of - FishBase Fish kill Hypoxia in - Ichthyology
Anatomy and physiology	Age determination Anguilliformity Bone dermal intramembranous ossification Cleithrum Chromatophore Fins dorsal fin Gill branchial arch gill raker gill slit pharyngeal arch pharyngeal slit pseudobranch Glossohyal Jaw hyomandibula pharyngeal jaw Leydig's organ Mauthner cell Meristics Operculum papillare Papilla Photophore Root effect Shark cartilage Scales ganoine Spiral valve Suckermouth Swim bladder physoclisti physostome Teeth pharyngeal shark Teleost leptins Digital Library
Sensory systems	Ampullae of Lorenzini Barbel Hydrodynamic reception Electroreception and electrogenesis Jamming avoidance response Lateral line Otolith Capacity for pain Schreckstoff Surface wave detection Vision Weberian apparatus
Reproduction	Bubble nest Clasper Egg case Development Ichthyoplankton Juvenile Life history theory Milt Mouthbrooder Polyandry Pregnancy Roe Sequential hermaphroditism Spawning triggers
Locomotion	Fin and flipper locomotion Amphibious Walking Flying Undulatory locomotion Tradeoffs for locomotion in air and water RoboTuna
Other behaviour	Aquatic predation Aquatic respiration Bait ball Bottom feeders Cleaner fish Corallivory Diel vertical migration Electric fish Filter feeders Forage fish Migratory Paedophagy Predatory Salmon run Sardine run Scale eaters Schooling fish Sleep Venomous Intelligence
By habitat	Cave Coastal Coldwater Coral reef Deep-sea Demersal Euryhaline Freshwater Groundfish Pelagic Tropical
Other types	Bait Coarse Diversity Game Genetically modified Hallucinogenic Oily Poisonous Rough Whitefish
Commerce	Farming Carp Catfish Octopus Salmonids Tilapia Wild fisheries Predatory billfish mackerel salmon tuna Forage anchovy herring sardine sprats Demersal cod flatfish pollock
Major groups	Jawless hagfish lampreys Cartilaginous chimaeras sharks rays Bony spiny-finned fleshy-finned
Lists	Aquarium life Blind Fish common names Fish families Glossary of ichthyology Largest Smallest Threatened rays sharks Prehistoric more lists...
Category WikiProject

• Inimicus
• Fish of the Indian Ocean
• Marine fish of Western Australia
• Fish described in 1769
• Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas