Pterois miles is known as the common lionfish or devil firefish. It is frequently confused with its close relative, the red lionfish

Red Lionfish

The red lionfish is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae, order Scorpaeniformes. P. volitans is natively found in the Indo-Pacific region, but has become a huge invasive problem in the Caribbean Sea and along the East coast of the United States along with a similar species,...

 (Pterois volitans).

Description

Length up to 35 cm. This lionfish

Lionfish

Lionfish may refer to:* genus Pterois, collectively known as the lionfish* Red Lionfish , a significant invasive species off the East Coast of North America and in the Caribbean-Fish:...

 varies in colour from reddish to tan or grey, and has a feathery dorsal fin and wing-like pectoral fin. Its face is less angular than the Volitan Lionfish.

Distribution

Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

: Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Also known in eastern Mediterranean. Very similar in appearance to Pterois volitans which does not occur in the Red Sea.