Rhinopias - Lembeh Straigt, Indonesia

[scubadawg]

Rhinopias — a genus of scorpionfish with a lot of flair — is an exotic species that’s prised by divers, who travel thousands of miles in hopes of encountering them.

Genus: Scorpaenidae
Rhinopias are members of the scorpionfish family or Scorpaenidae, which now contains five species: Rhinopias eschmeyeri (paddle flap), aphanes (merlets), frondosa (weedy), xenops (bug eye) and argoliba (Japanese). While most scorpionfish can be found globally, the Rhinopias are very bio-geographically specific to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and more recently, Hawaii, and Okinawa, Japan. The diverse locations and small numbers of this amazing creature add to the mystique and difficulty of seeing them in nature, pushing them to the top of the Holy Grail list for divers, underwater photographers, and marine biologists.