{{Short description|Species of fishes}} {{about|the stonefish|other taxonomic uses|List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names}} {{Speciesbox | image = ErosaErosaTomDemeyer.jpg | image_caption = Pitted stonefish (''Erosa erosa''), at Lembeh Strait, Manado, Indonesia | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Motomura, H. |author2=Matsuura, K. | name-list-style = & |year=2016 |title=Erosa erosa |article-number=e.T69920774A70010055 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69920774A70010055.en |access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Erosa erosa | parent_authority = Swainson, 1839 | authority = (Cuvier, 1829) | synonyms = * ''Synanceia erosa'' <small>Cuvier, 1829</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase genus|genus=Erosa|month=February |year=2022}}</ref> }}
The '''pitted stonefish''' ('''''Erosa erosa'''''), also known as the '''Pacific monkey-fish''', is a species of venomous ray-finned fish, a stonefish be longing to the subfamily Synanceiinae of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Erosa'' and is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
== Taxonomy == The pitted stonefish was first formally described as ''Synanceia erosa'' in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as "Seas of Japan".<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Erosa|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> In 1839 William Swainson placed it in the monotypic genus ''Erosa''.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof family|family=Synanceiinae|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> The genus is considered, by some, to include the daruma stinger (''Dampierosa daruma'').<ref name = FofA>{{cite web | author = Dianne J. Bray | title = ''Erosa daruma'' | work = Fishes of Australia | access-date = 9 April 2022 | url = https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3213 | publisher = Museums Victoria}}</ref> The genus ''Erosa'' is classified within the tribe Synanceiini which is one of three tribes in the subfamily Synanceeinae within the family Scorpaenidae.<ref name=Nelson5>{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages= 468–475 |publisher=Wiley |ISBN= 978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/}}</ref> However, other authorities regard Synanceiidae as a valid family and the Synanceiini as the subfamily Synanceiinae.<ref name = CofF2/> ''Erosa'' means "gnawed" or "eaten away", an allusion to the dimpled surfaces of the bones.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes10/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataceidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 10 March 2022 | access-date = 9 April 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>
==Description== The pitted stonefish has a large head which has a rounded profile, there is a bony hump above the eyes with a deep pit on the nape. The snout is very short giving the head a nearly vertical anterior profile.<ref name = FofA/> This species has 14 spines and 9 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 2 spines and 5 or 6 soft rays in the anal fin.<ref name = Fishbase/> The overall colour is varies from reddish to orange or brown mottled with white. There mat be dark crossbands and lines of irregular shaped white spots on the pectoral, pelvic, anal and caudal fins.<ref name = FofA/> This species reaches a maximum total length of {{cvt|15|cm}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==Distribution and habitat== The pitted stonefish is found in the Indo-Pacific from southern Japan south to Australia and has been recorded from Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Tonga.<ref name = iucn/> In Australia it is found from Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia to Moreton Bay in Queensland.<ref name = FofA/> This benthic species is found down to {{cvt|90|m}} in depth,<ref name = Fishbase/> although it is commoner at deeper depths,<ref name = FofA/> on sand and mud substrates.<ref name = iucn/>
==Biology== The pitted stonefish has venomous spines in its fins.<ref name = Fishbase/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Synanceiini Category:Marine fish genera Category:Taxa named by William Swainson Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Category:Fish described in 1829