Ouch! Your foot just got punctured by a Lionfish while you were walking along the beach of the Atlantic Ocean. You better call the hospital because a lionfish is one of the most deadly sea creatures. One puncture could be fatal. 

Lion fish are known by so many names it's not even funny. They are known has the lionfish, cocl peacock fish, devil firefish, and etc. Their scientific name is Pterois volitans (red lionfish) and Pterois miles (devil firefish). They are either brown and macaroon with white stripes covering their bodies. They have fan like fins, soft rays dorsal spines, and anual spines. When a lionfish reproduces its females lay up to two million eggs a year. That’s why they aren't on the endangered or threatened list. These fish can live up to 15 years. The grown ups can be up to 18 inches long. The babies are usually 1 inch or less. So many names, so many babies, you can clearly state that lionfish are truly an invasive species.

Did you know that a lionfish uses its “fan like fins” to conner a fish that they hunt? They are hungry hunters that use their “fan like fins” to corner their prey so they can eat it because they are very slow moving. They rely on the color of their body to blend into their surroundings to hide from their predators that look hungry. They are known has one of the top predators in the Atlantic ocean. They are thought to be nocturnal hunters; during the day some hide in little cracks in rocks and coral. Lionfish hunt in small and hunt their prey which is small fish and invertebrates mollusks. They consume over 50 different species some we don’t even know yet. Lionfish aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, for example when they get super hungry they eat each other.

The first lionfish ever spotted was in 1985 on the South coast of Florida. Many people believe that lionfish were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean and they have the right to think that because most of the places where lionfish live are along the Atlantic Ocean coast. Their native range is located in the South part of the Pacific ocean and they also live in Native Oceans. You can specifically find them in western Australia and Malaysia, eastern France, Australia, United Kingdom's, and Pitcairn islands, northern to southern Japan,southern Korea, and Lord Howe islands and etc. Their non-native range is the southern part of the United States. From Florida to North Carolina. Baby ones camp along the coasts of Long island, New York and Bermuda. They are very popular aquarium fish in the U.S. They are used has a food source in their native range. They are mostly found in warm marine waters of the tropics. They live fiom 1 to 300 feet on artificial reefs that include mangrove, coral, and seagrass. (Artificial reefs look alot like shipwrecks.) So now you see that live in so much places it's hard to keep track. 

Now you have learned how many names lionfish have like devil firefish, or cocl peacock fish. You have also learned what they look like and how many eggs lionfish females can produce. Now you know how lionfish hunt and what they eat. You know where they live. My sources were https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lionfish-facts.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterois, and I used google, and http://gizmodo.com/lionfish-are-eating-fish-we-didnt-even-know-existed-1796270655. Lionfish are truly amazing creatures. Thankyou.  Catie  Miles