Mozambique Scorpionfish way out of range

John Sear (@johnsear) has uploaded a terrific observation of a Mozambique Scorpionfish, Parascorpaena mossambica.

The species normally occurs in tropical waters (south to the Solitary Islands on the NSW coast), but 'John's fish' was photographed in Sydney Harbour, about 500km south of the recognised distribution. It's the first time the species has been recorded in the harbour. This brings the tally of Sydney Harbour species to 641.

John is a big contributor to the Australasian Fishes Project. In April 2020, his Member Profile stated that he had uploaded observations of 501 fish species. This tally has now climbed to an impressive 790 species. Thank you John!

Identifying scorpionfishes can be very difficult so we contacted the world expert, Dr Hiroyuki Motomura for help. He identified the fish for us, stating "It is Parascorpaena mossambica. It's a big range extension." Thank you Hiro-san!