Lionfishes, within the semantic constraint of a biological genus, most plausibly refer to the genus Pterois (family Scorpaenidae), comprising marine ray-finned fishes characterized by elongated, venomous dorsal, anal, and pelvic spines and conspicuous pectoral fins. Species in this genus are demersal predators, typically inhabiting coral and rocky reefs in the Indo-Pacific, where they use cryptic coloration and slow, hovering locomotion to ambush teleost and invertebrate prey. Pterois venom, delivered via spines, contains heat-labile proteinaceous toxins that induce intense pain and systemic effects in vertebrates. Several species, notably Pterois volitans and Pterois miles, are also model organisms for invasion biology due to their rapid spread and ecological impacts in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.
There is a forever chemical lurking in the world's oceans that could be fundamentally altering the biology of marine life before it even hatches. PFOS, a notorious member of the PFAS family of chemicals, is known for its ...
Plants & Animals
May 29, 2026
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In a cramped, windowless room on the University of California, Berkeley, campus, two bespoke microscopes—each a Swiss Army knife for high-resolution imaging—operate around the clock gathering data that will help train a game-changing ...
Biotechnology
May 22, 2026
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Hurricanes can be a devastating force—leveling trees, erasing beaches and damaging homes. But what do they do to wildlife? The answer ranges from the good to the bad to the ugly. Hurricanes sometimes help native species, ...
Evolution
May 22, 2026
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Hair, nails, and horns, all made up of keratin, are some of the hardest and most resilient structures in animals. Inside zebrafish cells, keratin plays a distinct role, giving them the strength they need to move together ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 21, 2026
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RIKEN researchers have determined the molecular structure of an enzyme that occurs in fish. This could shed light on molecular processes in a wide range of marine organisms. The work is published in the Journal of Biological ...
Plants & Animals
May 13, 2026
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How do fish survive relentless sunlight in the open waters without getting burned? They make their own natural sunscreen—and now, humans could be one step closer to using it too.
Cell & Microbiology
May 13, 2026
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Most of what scientists know about face development comes from studies in bony vertebrates such as mice, chickens, and zebrafish. However, their evolutionary counterparts, cartilaginous fishes, have remained largely unexplored. ...
Evolution
May 11, 2026
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What are the first steps that chart the path for a cell to become a blood cell, neuron cell, or pigment cell? Scientists have developed increasingly powerful tools to track those changes, but one challenge has persisted: ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 11, 2026
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A new study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals the surprising neurological landscape of fish brains. Harvard researchers map the internal structures of ray-finned fishes' brains in 3D detail, discovering brain ...
Evolution
May 5, 2026
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Cell division during the early stage of embryo development is a trade-off between speed and accuracy; the cells need to divide quickly to enable rapid growth, but it's important not to introduce errors that could be fatal ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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