Tetrarogidae


The waspfishes are a family, the Tetrarogidae, of scorpaeniform fishes native to the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific. They are closely related to the scorpionfishes. As their name suggests, waspfishes are often venomous; having poison glands on their spines. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living at depths to. They are small fish, from 2.5–23 cm long with spiny fins. These creatures usually live in hiding places on the sea bottom.
A recent study placed the waspfishes into an expanded stonefish clade because all of these fish have a lachrymal saber that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye.

Genera