45centimeters(18inches) long
Lionfishpreyonmorethan100species,andonelionfishcaneat5,000fishina year.
Theycanliveupto15yearsinthe wild.
Lionfishreproduceatarapidrate.Afemalecanproducemorethantwomillioneggsperyear.Fewpredatorsconsumetheeggsbecausetheyarefilledwithaharmfulchemical.Theeggshatchafteronlytwodays.Thebabylionfishwillbereadytoreproduceinlessthana year.
Lionfishareprotectedbyvenomousspinesattachedtotheir fins.
presentinvasion zone
expectedinvasion zone
North
America
South
America
Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
LionfishhaveinvadedtheEastCoast,theCaribbean,andtheGulfof Mexico.
Theyareexpectedtocontinuespreadingsouthtoward Brazil.
Invasivelionfishcanseverelydamagecoral reefs.
before invasion
after invasion
Lionfisharesupremepredators.Theyambushpreyincoralreefs,seagrassbeds,mangroveswamps,andevennexttoartificialstructuressuchassunken ships.
Inheavilyinvadedregions,somenativepopulationsoffishhavebeenreducedby90 percent.
Lionfishcaneasilyeatmorethan2/3oftheirownbodyweightatonetime,andalionfish’sstomachcanexpandupto30timesin volume.
