škarpina

Red scorpion fish Red scorpion fish is quite plain in its appearance. Its head is very large relative to the body, which is full of thorns. It is pink to red in color, with brownish spots on the body. Pigment in its skin has the ability to change patterns in accordance with the environment in which it lives, so caught scorpion fish can be found in various tones. It grows 66 cm in length and can weigh up to 5 kg. It lives in all kinds of seabed but prefers rocky and gravelly bottom up to 100 m deep. It is even known to go down up to 400 meters in depth. In autumn and spring scorpion fish are closer to the coast while the rest of the year reside in greater depths. It feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and fish. It mainly lives on the seabed to which it adjusts the color of its body. It spawns in late spring. It has a large body with big head and big mouth. By its mimicry, i.e., the ability to adapt to environmental bodies, it hides very successfully from underwater fishermen and catch is mostly accidental. They inhabit mainly rocky seabed with lots of gaps, overgrown in algae, which provide it with shelter in the hunt for crabs and fish. During the day it dwells at greater depths, while in the late afternoon it hunts closer to shore. Due to its chunky body its movement is quite limited. Therefore it hunts mostly at night, in an ambush. Her hunt looks like this: first it hides away in a convenient place such as silt or sand (in the mud and sand it tends to get buried and covered), among rocks or seaweed. From its hunting stand it attracts the prey with constant motions of its head growths. These are also the only one of its movements, because her whole body is petrified (in these times a red scorpion fish is very easy target for spear fishermen). When prey approaches, it catches its victim inside its large mouth and a rapid movement of the head and fins. It feeds on small fish, small mollusks, and crustaceans, which armor can be broken with ease. Red scorpion fish reaches its sexual maturity in two years. It spawns in summer and during the spawning season migrates along the coast on several occasions. It lays eggs of 0.9 mm, grouped in a protective, mucous shroud. This slimy creation is being worn by the waves by the shoal. In this way the eggs are inserted into various cracks in the shallow rocks and there are continuing their further development. These fish change their skin like snakes 1-2 times a month (depending on their diet). It is also very durable and can survive out of water or without food, much more than other fish species. Caution is needed when catching red scorpion fish, because the sting of the dorsal spine and the gill flaps is very painful. Its venom is not as dangerous as of some other toxic Adriatic fish such as streaked weeverfish. Pierced body part is severely paining, red and swollen. Very rarely symptoms like dizziness, vomiting, fever and general malaise could occur. Wound should be inspected and removed any of the remains of spines, if there are any. Pain reduces in an hour. If possible, the injured body part should be immediately drowned in hot water. If this is not possible, cigarette embers can help that must be held 2-3 mm distant to the injected spot. After this treatment, the pain will stop and the swelling will go away. The poison gets decomposed at high temperatures when cooking and baking. Red scorpion fish has few natural enemies in the sea. Its natural enemy is muraena, so if you have spotted a moray or more of them, it is very likely that there are red scorpion fish about. While searching for a scorpion fish one should not concentrate on color but on its form to have greater success. Divers often look straight into it and do not see it, even though they are in front of their nose. The meat of red scorpion fish is highly prized, and is a valuable ingredient when preparing fish stew.

Škarpina

Škarpina je po izgledu prilično neugledna riba. Glava joj je vrlo velika u odnosu na tijelo, koje je prepuno bodlji. Boje je

ružičastocrvene do crvene, sa smeđkastim točkama po tijelu. Pigment na njenoj koži ima sposobnost promjene šara u skladu s

okolinom u kojoj živi. Zato ulovljene škarpine možemo naći u raznim nijansama. Naraste 66 cm u dužinu i može težiti do 5 kg. Živi na

svim vrstama dna ali preferira stjenovita i šljunkovita dna do 100 metara dubine. Zna zaći do čak 400 metara u dubinu. U jesen i

proljeće je bliže obali dok ostali dio godine provodi na većim dubinama. Hrani se rakovima, mekušcima i ribom. Uglavnom živi uz

morsko dno uz koje i prilagođava boju svojeg tijela. Mrijesti se krajem proljeća.

Krupnog je tijela, s velikom glavom i velikim ustima. Mimikrijom, tj. sposobnošću da se tijelom prilagodi okolišu, vrlo se uspješno krije

od podvodnih ribolovaca, pa je njen ulov kod većine njih slučajan. Najčešće su to kamenita dna sa mnoštvom procijepa, obraslim

algama, koji joj pružaju zaklon u lovu na rakove i ribe. Preko dana obitava na većim dubinama, dok se u kasno poslijepodne u lovu

približava obali.

Zbog svog zdepastog tijela kretanje joj je dosta ograničeno. Zato lovi pretežno noću, iz zasjede. Njen lov izgleda ovako: prvo se

sakrije na nekom pogodnom mjestu kao što je mulj ili pjesak (na mulju i pijesku nastoji da se što više ukopa ili prekrije), među

kamenjem ili algama. Iz svoje čeke plijen privlači konstantnim pokretima izraslina na glavi. To su ujedno i jedini njeni pokreti, jer je joj

je čitavo tijelo kao skamenjeno (u tim trenutcima škarpina je izuzetno laka meta za podvodnog ribolovca). Kada plijen priđe,

zahvaljujući svojim velikim ustima i munjevitom pokretu glave i peraja hvata svoju žrtvu. Hrani se manjim ribama, malim mekušcima,

kao i ljuskarima čiji oklop može slomiti.

Škarpina dostiže svoju spolnu zrelost sa dvije godine. Mrijesti se ljeti i za vrijeme mrijesta kreće se uz obalu i to u više navrata. Polaže

jajašca od 0,9 mm koja su u skupinama obavijene zaštitnim sluzavim omotačem. Ovakva sluzava tvorevina biva nošena valovima

kroz plićak. Na taj način jajašca bivaju ubačena u razne pukotine na stijenama u plićaku i tu nastavljaju svoj dalji razvoj.

Mijenjaj svoju kožu, poput zmije 1-2 puta mjesečno (zavisno od ishrane). Također je veoma izdržljiva i van vode može dugo opstati,

kao i bez hrane, mnogo više od ostalih ribljih vrsta.

Oprez je potreban kod ulovljene škarpine, jer je ubod na leđne i bodlje na škržnim zaklopcima bolan. Njen otrov nije tako opasan kao

kod nekih drugih otrovnih riba iz jadrana, kao na primjer pauka. Nakon uboda na ubodenom dijelu tijela javlja se jaka bol, crvenilo i

oticanje. Nekad se znaju javiti i sljedeći simptomi ali dosta rijetko kao vrtoglavica, povraćanje, temperatura i opća slabost. Ranu treba

pregledati i odstraniti ostatke bodlje, ako ih ima. Bol popušta za sat vremena. Ako je to moguće, povrijeđeni dio tijela treba odmah

utopiti u vruću vodu. Ako ovo nije moguće, može pomoći i žar cigarete, koji treba primaći na 2-3 mm od mjesta uboda. Nakon ovog

tretmana bol će prestati i otok će splasnuti. Otrov joj se razgrađuje na visokim temperaturama prilikom kuhanja i pečenja.

Škarpina u moru ima mali broj prirodnih neprijatelja. Škarpinin prirodni neprijatelj je murina, pa ukoliko ste uočili murinu ili više njih

velika je vjerojatnost da se ovdje nalaze škarpine. Dok je tražite nemojte se koncentrirati na boje, nego na oblik i imat ćete veću

uspješnost. Ronioci često gledaju ravno u nju i ne vide je, iako im se nalazi ispred nosa.

Meso joj je vrlo cijenjeno, a najviše se koristi za pripremu brodeta.

Benthos