ABSTRACT
Members of the family Scorpaenidae share several important characters with other families of Scorpaeniform fishes including the presence of a suborbital stay, welldeveloped spines on the cheeks, and, usually, distinct ridges and spines on top of the head. They differ, however, in having 1 or 2 spines on the opercle; 3 to 5 spines on the preopercular margin; a single, usually notched, dorsal fin with 7 to 18 spines and 4 to 14 soft rays, and an anal fin with 2 to 4 spines and 5 to 14 soft rays.
