Zebra Lionfish

Zebra Lionfish, Calene Luczo, Dendrochirus zebra, Watercolor, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

This species is a true natural work of art. It is a carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines that is native to the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Now found in the Atlantic Ocean as an invasive species, their population density is increasing at a rapid rate and has become a significant threat to the marine ecology off the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean.