Species: Scorpaena cocosensis, Cocos scorpionfish

Scorpaena cocosensis Motomura, 2004

Cocos scorpionfish

Body relatively slender, depth 37% of SL; head long (48.4% of SL); snout relatively short, 11.1% of SL; eyes large (diameter 17% of SL), upper 1/3 covered by a translucent membrane that has 9 cirri along its lower edge; width between eyes 6.1% of SL; a well developed pair of bony ridges between eyes that diverge at the front and rear and are separated by a narrow, deep channel in the center; no cirri or tentacles between eyes; pit behind eyes shallow, with a distinct front edge and only a few cirri in its center; no pit below eye; uppermost spine on preoperculum without small supplemental spine, second preopercular spine small; longitudinal ridge below eye bearing 1 small spine under center of eye; dorsal rays XII, 8; anal rays III, 5; pectoral rays 22, the uppermost and lower 16 unbranched and thickened, reaches to level of 3rd soft dorsal ray; longitudinal scale rows 46, pored lateral line scales ~ 25; scales on lower front body well exposed.