Minous monodactylus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Grey stingfish
Minous monodactylus
photo by Randall, J.E.

Family:  Synanceiidae (Stonefishes), subfamily: Minoinae
Max. size:  15 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 33.0 g
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 10 - 55 m
Distribution:  Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia, north to southern Japan.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 9-11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-12; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft rays: 7-10. Description: Characterized by pale grey color; upper back is dark brown; irregular zone of dark brown along middle of side; caudal fin greyish brown with white bars at base and middle section and white outer margin; dorsal fins with oblique white bands; outer portion of anterior soft dorsal rays with black oblong spot; first dorsal spine well separated from others by deeply incised membrane; anal spines difficult to distinguish from soft rays; lowermost pectoral rays free of membrane; well developed head spines; two spines in lacrimal directed downward; long posterior spine, at least twice the length of anterior spine; depth of body 3.0 in SL (Ref. 90102).
Biology:  Found near shore, including semi-enclosed sea areas; inhabits soft bottoms of the continental shelf (Ref. 11230). Anterolateral glandular grooves with venom gland (Ref. 57406). Sold in small quantities either fresh or dried and salted. Also found in sand bottoms in 10-55 m (Ref 90102).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 20 June 2017 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  venomous
Country info:   
 


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.