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What the sources say

Red LionfishPterois volitans

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Red Lionfish profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 45 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Motomura & Matsuura 2016

Motomura & Matsuura (2016). Pterois volitans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T190468A78940195.

The page saysLeast Concern
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).Note: GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 190468

Source
02

Peterson & McHenry 2022

Peterson & McHenry (2022). The persistent-predation strategy of the red lionfish ( Pterois volitans ). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

The page saysSwims at half its prey's speed and still wins six lab chases in ten.
The source saysDespite swimming about half as fast as C. viridis , lionfish succeeded in capturing prey in 61% of our experiments.Note: tagline; laboratory result
The page saysit chased a faster fish at about half its speed and caught it in 61% of lab trials
The source saysDespite swimming about half as fast as C. viridis , lionfish succeeded in capturing prey in 61% of our experiments.Note: stats.superpower
The page saysThe persistent-predation strategy
The source saysThese characteristics comprise a behaviour that we call the 'persistent-predation strategy'Note: stats.superpower
The page saysIn a laboratory study, red lionfish chased a faster prey fish, Chromis viridis, while swimming about half as fast, and still captured it in 61% of experiments.
The source saysUsing kinematic measurements, we considered the strategy of red lionfish ( Pterois volitans ) as they pursued a faster prey fish ( Chromis viridis ) under laboratory conditions. Despite swimming about half as fast as C. viridis , lionfish succeeded in capturing prey in 61% of our experiments.
The page saysThe prey swam in fits and starts, slowing down at times, and those slow spells let the lionfish close in.
The source saysC. viridis moved intermittently with variation in speed that included slow swimming. Such periods allowed lionfish to close the distance to a prey
The page saysOnce it was less than 9 cm away it fired a suction-feeding strike
The source saysinitiate a suction-feeding strike at a relatively close distance (less than 9 cm)
The page says74% of those strikes worked
The source sayscapturing prey in 74% of all strikes
The page saysThe researchers named the trick the persistent-predation strategy.
The source saysThese characteristics comprise a behaviour that we call the 'persistent-predation strategy'
The page saysIn lab tests it kept swimming toward its prey without a break, while the prey's speed rose and fell.
The source sayslionfish pursued prey with uninterrupted motion. By contrast, C. viridis moved intermittently with variation in speed that included slow swimmingNote: faq
The page saysabout three strikes in four succeeded
The source sayscapturing prey in 74% of all strikesNote: faq
The page saysWhen a slow spell brought it within 9 cm, it struck
The source saysSuch periods allowed lionfish to close the distance to a prey and initiate a suction-feeding strike at a relatively close distance (less than 9 cm)Note: faq
The page saysPart of the trick is steady motion.
The source saysSecond, lionfish pursued prey with uninterrupted motion.Note: body
The page saysThe lionfish kept heading for where the prey was, not where it was going, and kept moving without a break.
The source sayslionfish targeted C. viridis with pure pursuit by adjusting their heading towards the prey's position and not the anticipated point of interception. Second, lionfish pursued prey with uninterrupted motion.Note: body
The page saysBiologists were unsure how a predator in plain sight could catch prey faster than itself.
The source saysit is unclear how a pursuit can be effective when the prey is faster than a non-cryptic predatorNote: body; non-cryptic = in plain sight
The page saysIn lab chases the red lionfish caught faster prey
The source saysUsing kinematic measurements, we considered the strategy of red lionfish ( Pterois volitans ) as they pursued a faster prey fish ( Chromis viridis ) under laboratory conditions.Note: vibe.reason
The page saysit kept heading for the target without a break while the prey sped up and slowed down
The source sayslionfish pursued prey with uninterrupted motion. By contrast, C. viridis moved intermittently with variation in speed that included slow swimmingNote: vibe.reason

Source
03

Green et al. 2012

Green et al. (2012). Invasive Lionfish Drive Atlantic Coral Reef Fish Declines. PLoS ONE.

The page saysthey were first reported off southeast Florida in the 1980s
The source saysLionfish were first reported off the southeast coast of Florida in the 1980sNote: P. volitans and P. miles
The page saysTwo Indo-Pacific lionfish, P. volitans and P. miles, have spread across the western Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico
The source saysIndo-Pacific lionfish ( Pterois volitans and P. miles ) have spread rapidly across the Western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
The page saysOn nine Bahamas reefs, as lionfish multiplied, the fish species they ate lost 65% of their combined biomass in two years.
The source saysThe increase in lionfish abundance coincided with a 65% decline in the biomass of the lionfish's 42 Atlantic prey fishes in just two years.Note: lionfish = P. volitans and P. miles; 2008 to 2010
The page saysBetween 2008 and 2010, while lionfish numbers rose, the combined biomass of the 42 fish species lionfish ate there fell by 65% on average.
The source saysBetween 2008 and 2010, the combined biomass of these 42 species declined by 65%, on average, across the study reefsNote: faq; nine reefs from abstract
The page saysGreen and colleagues surveyed nine coral reefs off New Providence Island in the Bahamas.
The source saysnine coral reefs off New Providence IslandNote: faq
The page saysOn nine Bahamas reefs
The source saysnine coral reefs off New Providence Island, BahamasNote: body
The page saysthe 42 fish species lionfish ate there
The source saysNinety percent of the prey consumed by lionfish were small-bodied reef fishes from 42 speciesNote: faq
The page sayswhile lionfish numbers rose
The source saysLionfish abundance increased rapidly between 2004 and 2010Note: faq

Source
04

FishBase

Pterois volitans summary page. FishBase.

The page saysIndo-Pacific reefs, 2 to 55 m deep; invasive in the western Atlantic
The source saysMarine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 55 mNote: stats.habitat
The page saysSmall fishes, shrimps and crabs
The source saysHunt small fishes, shrimps, and crabs at nightNote: stats.diet
The page saysit also uses its wide pectoral fins to trap prey in a corner, then swallows it in one sweep
The source saysusing its widespread pectorals trapping prey into a corner, stunning it and then swallowing it in one sweep
The page saysIt carries 13 dorsal spines
The source saysDorsal spines (total): 13
The page saysThe maximum published length is 45.7 cm total length (snout to the tip of the tail), the maximum published weight is 1.4 kg, and the maximum reported age is 10 years.
The source saysMax length : 45.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 118189 ); max. published weight: 1.4 kg (Ref. 118189 ); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 72479 )Note: total length glossed by the writer (standard definition, not on the page)
The page saysIts home range runs from Western Australia and the Cocos-Keeling Islands east to the Marquesas, and north to southern Japan and southern Korea.
The source saysCocos-Keeling Islands and Western Australia (Ref. 27362 ) in the eastern Indian Ocean to the Marquesas and Oeno (Pitcairn group), north to southern Japan and southern Korea
The page saysIt lives on reefs from 2 to 55 m deep.
The source saysMarine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 55 m
The page saysBy day it hides in unexposed spots, often head down and almost motionless, and it hunts at night.
The source saysthey hide in unexposed places at daytime often with head down and practically immobile
The page saysit hunts at night
The source saysHunt small fishes, shrimps, and crabs at night
The page saysFishBase lists a maximum of 45.7 cm total length and a maximum published weight of 1.4 kg.
The source saysMax length : 45.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 118189 ); max. published weight: 1.4 kgNote: faq
The page saysThe maximum age FishBase reports is 10 years.
The source saysmax. reported age: 10 yearsNote: faq

Source
05

Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes

Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans). Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes.

The page saysIt eats small fishes, shrimps and crabs.
The source saysThe red lionfish is a solitary predator of small fishes, shrimps and crabs.
The page saysThe red lionfish varies a lot in appearance, but it is basically zebra-banded in red and white
The source saysThe red lionfish is highly variable in appearance but is basically zebra-banded in red and white
The page saysvenom glands sit at the base of certain fin spines. A stab from one can inject the toxins
The source saysVenom glands at the base of certain fin spines produce a number of toxins (collectively “venom”) that are injected in a potential predator via the spines.
The page saysthe venom is known to cause a severe reaction in humans
The source saysis known to cause a severe reaction in humans
The page saysSpines on the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins can deliver the venom.
The source saysThe venom of the red lionfish may be delivered by spines of the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins

Source
06

NOAA National Ocean Service

What is a lionfish? NOAA National Ocean Service.

The page saysinvasive in the western Atlantic
The source saysThe lionfish is a carnivorous fish native to the Indo-Pacific that is now an invasive species in the Atlantic .Note: stats.habitat
The page saysNOAA says lionfish rely on their unusual colours and fins to put off predators
The source saysthey must rely on their unusual coloration and fins to discourage would-be predators from eating themNote: lionfish = P. volitans and P. miles
The page saysNOAA says lionfish, popular aquarium fish, were possibly released into the Atlantic on purpose
The source saysLionfish are a popular marine ornamental fish and were possibly intentionally released into the Atlantic.Note: lionfish = P. volitans and P. miles
The page saysa mature female lionfish sheds about two million eggs each year
The source saysa mature female releases roughly two million eggs a year

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.