Red lionfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the red lionfish lives – recorded in 21 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Pterois volitans
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	21 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Scorpaeniformes
Family	Scorpaenidae

Where does the red lionfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the red lionfish in 21 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, North America, Oceania and South America. In Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Indonesia, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

United States
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Guadeloupe
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (introduced)
Puerto Rico
Australia
Barbados (introduced)
Martinique
Mexico (introduced)
Egypt
Indonesia (introduced)
Cayman Islands (introduced)
Colombia (introduced)
Philippines
Caribbean Netherlands
Fiji
Chinese Taipei
French Polynesia
Belize (introduced)
Réunion
Bahamas (introduced)

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the red lionfish endangered?

The red lionfish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the red lionfish?

The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a ray-finned fish in the order Scorpaeniformes and the family Scorpaenidae, genus Pterois. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the red lionfish

The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae, order Scorpaeniformes. It is mainly native to the Indo-Pacific region, but has become an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea, as well as along the East Coast of the United States and East Mediterranean and also found in Brazil at Fernando de Noronha.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Red lionfish (revision 1365302074), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q824672 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).