African lionfish
(Pterois mombasae)

Pterois mobasae has 13 spines and 10 soft rays in its dorsal fin and 3 spines and 6 or 7 soft rays in its anal fin. It has an oblong laterally compressed body and has either no supraoculat tentacles or they are very small. The 18-19 fin rays in the pectoral din are unbranched.

The body has many brown to brownish red bars of differing widths, the bars on the caudal peduncle are thin and wavy. There s a brownish red spot, smaller in diameter than the pupil, on the lower operculum. The soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin as well as the anal and caudal fins is translucent marked with a scattering of small brownish red spots on the rays. The pelvic fin is blackish.

The maximum published length is 31 cm (12 in), although a standard length of 20 cm (7.9 in) is more typical.

Pterois mombasae is found in the Indian Ocean from the eastern African coast between Kenya and South Africa, Madagascar and the Madives, India and east as far as the Andaman Sea.

It is a rare inhabitant of rocky bottoms on deep offshore reefs and is usually found on soft-bottom or muddy substrates with thick ridges of rubble amongst rich growths of invertebrates, paricularly sponges.