Largetail turkeyfish

Appearance

''Pterois russelii'' has 13 spines and between 10 and 12 soft rays in its dorsal fin and 3 spines and 7 or 8 soft rays in its anal fin. It has a whitish body striped vertically with reddish brown. This species has no rows of small dark spots on the soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins which are a feature of related species, and it has comparatively short dorsal-fin spines. The maximum published standard length of Russell's lionfish is 30 cm .

Distribution

''Pterois russelii'' has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the coast of eastern Africa as far south as South Africa. It then occurs from Oman east to Japan and Australia. It has been recorded in the Red Sea but this was only confirmed in 2016. In Australian waters Russell's lionfish is found from the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia around the northern tropical coasts to the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. It occurs at depths of 15 to 60 m , where it is found in areas of muddy substrate in shletered shallow estuaries, bays and coastal waters down to deeper waters in quiet offshore reefs.

Behavior

''Pterois russelii'' is a solitary species which has venom bearing spines. It feeds on smaller fishes, crabs and shrimp.

Habitat

''Pterois russelii'' has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the coast of eastern Africa as far south as South Africa. It then occurs from Oman east to Japan and Australia. It has been recorded in the Red Sea but this was only confirmed in 2016. In Australian waters Russell's lionfish is found from the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia around the northern tropical coasts to the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. It occurs at depths of 15 to 60 m , where it is found in areas of muddy substrate in shletered shallow estuaries, bays and coastal waters down to deeper waters in quiet offshore reefs.