Anyone know what species this is? Is it dangerous?
[Edited on 7-15-2005 by gringorio]bajajudy - 7-15-2005 at 04:26 PM
It looks kinda like a scorpion fish but I cant see if it has that lethal dorsel spine.
where is ken? he will know
[Edited on 7-16-2005 by bajajudy]elizabeth - 7-15-2005 at 04:47 PM
Looks like some kind of scorpion fish to me, too.elizabeth - 7-15-2005 at 04:48 PM
Can't really see the texture, especially of those wings, but it does also look like a large mouth blenny from this picture.
Fish
tehag - 7-15-2005 at 04:49 PM
Looks like a sculpin. If your idea of danger includes able to cause great pain then, yeah, this one can zap you pretty good. I've not heard of any
fatalities, but I'm familiar with the sting, and it ain't a bit funny.Mike Supino - 7-15-2005 at 04:49 PM
Its a stonefish. Short fat little body, big mouth and yes packs a very big punch if you step on it.bajaloco - 7-15-2005 at 06:19 PM
Sculpin is my vote....good eating if you clean it correctly...
Oh beware!!!!
yankeeirishman - 7-15-2005 at 08:39 PM
That is certainly a Wide Mouth Viper fish. See the size of that mouth? Be careful of it! It's been known that the Wide Mouth Viper fish will snap at
your hand and swallow. Very unpleasant feeling with all those tiny chewing teeth in the back jaw area.Cyndarouh - 7-15-2005 at 09:02 PM
I asked my Husband the man that lives to fish. He says its a sculpin. And they really can hurt you. They are good to eat.yankeeirishman - 7-15-2005 at 09:10 PM
Wide Mouth Viper fish. That was a joke
I think it is either a sculpin or a cabazon
Ken Bondy - 7-15-2005 at 09:17 PM
Dorsal spines contain venom, can cause painful wound if they penetrate your skin. Where was it?
[Edited on 7-16-2005 by Ken Bondy]capt. mike - 7-16-2005 at 04:43 AM
sculpin for sure when diving SOC rocks i am CONSTANTLY looking out for these and Stone fish which will tear you up with pain.
where is "the sculpin" anyway?!
Greg - where are you, on the trip again?
[Edited on 7-16-2005 by capt. mike]The Sculpin - 7-16-2005 at 07:03 AM
Well, well, well....
Now I know how all those peolpe feel who had their pictures taken by DK and plastered all over the net! Yep, that certainly is me, and I am really
annoyed that I am now easily recognizable to all you out there!
Usually, sculpins are a more red, and the cabezons and ling cods are greener...but it sure looks like me!!yankeeirishman - 7-16-2005 at 08:06 AM
Outstanding website you have there.Bruce R Leech - 7-16-2005 at 08:23 AM
can you show a picture from the side?bajajudy - 7-16-2005 at 09:23 AM
The California Scorpionfish is commonly referred to as a "sculpin" but really is not a sculpin at all, but a member of the rockfish family. True
sculpins are in the family Cottidae, which includes the cabezon. "Sculpins", like most members of the Scorpaenidae family (which includes rockfish) ,
are armed with very sharp spines which are connected to venom glands. Most rockfish have very little venom in their glands and will produce only
slight pain if you get stuck with their spines. The Sculpin however, is the most venomous member of the scorpionfish family in California. Penetration
of the skin by a sculpin spine is followed almost immediately by intense pain in the area of the wound. Multiple punctures can be serious, producing
shock, respiratory distress, or abnormal heart action and may require hospitalization of the victim. In the case of single punctures, many treatments
have been used, with the immersion of the wound in very hot water seeming to be the most effective at alleviating the pain.
The sculpin can be found from Baja California, Mexico on up to Santa Cruz, California from just below the surface of the ocean, down to about 600 feet
deep. Most sculpin with be found over rocky bottoms, but can also be found over sand or muddy bottoms. Their diet consists of crab, squid,
octopus,small fish and shrimp. The sculpin sits camouflaged on a rock and waits for his unsuspecting prey to swim by. Scuba divers have to be
particularly careful because of this. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the sculpin and the rock he is sitting on. Probably the most
effective method of fishing for sculpin is also the easiest. Just a simple rig, with a hook and sinker, baited with a piece of squid or fish and
lowered to the bottom should produce good results. Sculpin don't put up much of a fight and are typically not very large, but they are good eating. We
have found that the most effective method of removing a hook from a sculpin's mouth, is to "lip" the fish so that you have good control of it and
carefully remove the hook with a pair of pliers. Trying to just shake the fish off by grabbing only the hook with a pair of pliers could get you into
trouble should the fish move about and shake itself right into your hand or arm and is not recommended. The largest sculpin recorded was about 17
inches long but they are typically found at much smaller sizes.
Found, where else, on the internetgringorio - 7-16-2005 at 10:20 AM
hola Ken,
it was taken in a gill net in relatively shallow water in Bahia San Luis Gonzaga just north of Alfonsina's.
Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Dorsal spines contain venom, can cause painful wound if they penetrate your skin. Where was it?
Sharksbaja - 7-16-2005 at 01:50 PM
All the So. Cal cabezon I have caught had blue-geen tissue. I am not particularily fond of cabezon(which it looks like to me) because of it's on the
fishyside. The tissue turns white upon cooking. The largest I've seen are in No.
Cal and they are plentiful and I've seen many over 3ft long.
Ugly bastards and voracious.
SCULPIN...
bahiamia - 7-16-2005 at 04:29 PM
Stonefish are a bit different looking and far more dangerous. The only stonefish I ever saw in the waters down here in Bahia was over on the Big
Island. Sculpin however are a very common sight, even in relatively shallow water.
Sculpin are very good eating; since they pretty much just hang out on rocks all day and swim only when necessary, their meat is extremely white, and
cooks up very tasty.
Easy to subdue when you catch one...just use a rag, grab them by the lower jaw, hold them steady, and crack them across the back, just behind the head
with a STURDY knife (not a flimsly filet knife). This severs the spinal cord and they go limp. No problem. Gotta use enough force, though.
side. The tissue turns white upon cooking. The largest I've seen are in No.
Cal and they are plentiful and I've seen many over 3ft long.