Red lionfish
Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a bony fish in the family Scorpaenidae, subfamily Pteroinae. It belongs to the order Perciformes, suborder Scorpaenoidei, and the class Teleostei.
Quick facts about the red lionfish
The red lionfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category. Other English names for this fish include Lionfish, Firefish, Zebrafish, Turkeyfish and Turkey-fish.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 47 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 10 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coral_reefsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the red lionfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the red lionfish live?
Not recorded
What is the red lionfish?
The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae, order Scorpaeniformes. It is mainly native to the Indo-Pacific region, but has become an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea, as well as along the East Coast of the United States and East Mediterranean and also found in Brazil at Fernando de Noronha.
P. volitans and a similar relative, Pterois miles, have both been deemed invasive species. Red lionfish are clad in white stripes alternated with red, maroon or brown stripes. Adults in this species can grow as large as 47 cm (18.5 in) in length, making it one of the largest species of lionfish in the ocean, while juveniles are typically shorter than 1 inch (2.5 cm). The average red lionfish lives around 10 years. As with many species within the family Scorpaenidae, it has large, venomous spines on its dorsal fin (13) as well as other venomous spines on its pelvic fins (2) and anal fins (3). It is these fins together with the other long non-venomous fins which create an appearance similar to a mane, giving it the common name "lionfish". The dorsal spines deter most potential predators. Lionfish reproduce monthly and are able to quickly disperse during their larval stage for expansion of their invasive region. No definitive predators of the lionfish are known, and many organizations are promoting the harvest and consumption of lionfish in efforts to prevent further increases in the already high population densities.
From the Wikipedia article “Red lionfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_lionfish&oldid=1365302074), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the red lionfish endangered?
The red lionfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the red lionfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- familyScorpaenidae
- genusPterois
- SpeciesPterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Brachirus zebra, Gasterosteus volitans, Pterois zebra, Scorpaena volitans
Other names and names in other languages (80)
- Butterfly codEnglish
- Butterfly-codEnglish
- Common lionfishEnglish
- Common lionfishEnglish
- FeatherfinsEnglish
- FirefishEnglish
- LionfishEnglish
- Ornate butterfly-codEnglish
- Peacock lionfishEnglish
- Red firefishEnglish
- Scorpion volitansEnglish
- Scorpion-codEnglish
- Turkey-fishEnglish
- TurkeyfishEnglish
- ZebrafishEnglish
- KalkoenvisAfrikaans
- دجاج البحرArabic
- دجاجة البحرArabic
- سمكة التنين الحمراءArabic
- Peix escorpíCatalan
- perutýn ohnivýCzech
- DragefiskDanish
- Eigentlicher RotfeuerfischGerman
- Pazifischer RotfeuerfischGerman
- Fajra pteroisoEsperanto
- Pez león asiáticoSpanish
- Pez leónSpanish
- Pez león coloradoSpanish
- شیرماهی قرمزPersian
- SiipisimppuFinnish
- Laffe VolantFrench
- Poisson lionFrench
- Poisson ScorpionFrench
- Poisson VolantFrench
- Poisson-dindonFrench
- Rascasse volanteFrench
- Rascasse volante du PacifiqueFrench
- זהרון וליטאנסHebrew
- Mérgező tűzhalHungarian
- Pesce scorpioneItalian
- Pesce cobra orientaleItalian
- Pesce leone orientaleItalian
- Pesce scorpione orientaleItalian
- Pteroide volante orientaleItalian
- Scorpena volante orientaleItalian
- ハナミノカサゴJapanese
- Hana-minokasagoJapanese
- OminokasagoJapanese
- 점쏠배감펭Korean
- Pazifesche RoutfeierfëschLuxembourgish
- KaleMarshallese
- ചവരാലിMalayalam
- ChavaraliMalayalam
- LepuMalay
- Gewone koraalduivelDutch
- Rascassa volantaOccitan
- Ognica pstraPolish
- Peixe-leãoPortuguese
- Peixe-leão-vermelhoPortuguese
- Крылатка-зебраRussian
- Krídlovec ohnivýSlovak
- Velika plamenkaSlovenian
- DrakfiskSwedish
- tataraihauTahitian
- ปลาสิงโตปีกThai
- ปลาสิงโตแดงThai
- Volitan'ın Aslan BalığıTurkish
- Cá mao tiênVietnamese
- 國公Chinese
- 火烘Chinese
- 獅子魚Chinese
- 石狗敢Chinese
- 石頭魚Chinese
- 紅虎Chinese
- 翱翔蓑鮋Chinese
- 虎魚Chinese
- 長獅Chinese
- 雞公Chinese
- 魔鬼Chinese
- 魔鬼簑鮋Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red lionfish
Other species in the same genus Pterois.
Lionfish
Pterois miles
Luna lion fish
Pterois lunulata
Spotless firefish
Pterois russelii
Andover lionfish
Pterois andover
CompareRed lionfish vs LionfishRed lionfish vs Luna lion fishRed lionfish vs Spotless firefishRed lionfish vs Andover lionfish
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the red lionfish?
The red lionfish is a bony fish in the family Scorpaenidae and the order Perciformes.
What is the scientific name of the red lionfish?
The scientific name of the red lionfish is Pterois volitans, in the genus Pterois.
Who named the red lionfish and when?
The scientific name authority for Pterois volitans is (Linnaeus, 1758).
Is the red lionfish endangered?
No. The red lionfish is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the red lionfish have?
Other English names for the red lionfish are Lionfish, Firefish, Zebrafish, Turkeyfish and Turkey-fish.
What family does the red lionfish belong to?
The red lionfish belongs to the family Scorpaenidae and the subfamily Pteroinae.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red lionfish (Pterois volitans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-lionfish
“Red lionfish (Pterois volitans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-lionfish.
@misc{red_lionfish_2026,
title = {Red lionfish (Pterois volitans)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-lionfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}