Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Scorpaeniformes
(Scorpionfishes and flatheads) > Scorpaenidae
(Scorpionfishes or rockfishes) > Pteroinae
Etymology: Dendrochirus: Greek, dendron = tree + Greek, cheir = hands; with tree like marks (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 80 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical; 32°N - 32°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 17.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa and Tonga, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe Island; Mariana Islands in Micronesia; the Arafura Sea (Ref. 9819) and Australia.
Common in reef flats and shallow lagoons, in areas with weed-covered rocks on sandy substrates. Adults often found on sponges and juveniles are sometimes found in small aggregations on remote bommies with 10 or so individuals (Ref. 48635). Nocturnal. Feeds on small crustaceans (Ref. 37816).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Females possess specialized ovarian structures including stalk-like ovigerous lamellae and secretory epithelia (Ref. 32832).
Eschmeyer, W.N., 1986. Scorpaenidae. p. 463-478. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4313)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01148 (0.00443 - 0.02975), b=3.09 (2.87 - 3.31), based on LWR estimates for this Subfamily-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.6 ±0.4 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low to moderate vulnerability (34 of 100) .