Species - Synanceja trachynis, Synaneichthyes verrucosus
Synonyms - Rockfish, Goblinfish, "Nofu" (The Waiting One), Warty-ghoul.
Description
Stonefish usually are a mottled greenish-brown in colour with its skin having many stone-like appendages which gives it an almost perfect camouflage against the background it prefers. The most striking feature of this species is its spine of 13 grooved hypodermic-like projections, each capable of piercing a sandshoe.
Stonefish can live out of water for many hours and grow to about 30 cm in length.
Habitat
In Australian waters the stonefish lives primarily above the tropic of Capricorn. Its main habitat is on coral reefs, near or about rocks, or it just lies dormant in the sand or mud.
References
Cruising the Coral Coast, Alan Lucas
Guide to Beach and Water Safety, Kenneth Bullock
Encyclopaedia Britannica
