Scorpaenopsis papuensis (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829)

Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360 : 103

Scorpaenopsis papuensis (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829) —Papuan scorpionfish

Status at New Ireland. New record, based on a specimen photographed at Lissenung Island by Dietmar Amon on 16 May 2009, and another specimen collected northwest of New Hanover , NTUM 12343 (1 specimen, 27.8 mm SL, St. CP 4489-26, west of New Hanover ).

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 1, 2.—General distribution: Indonesia east to Society Islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to northern Australia. Found benthic on coral and rocky reefs, including inshore soft bottoms and estuaries, 2–175 m depth. Transitional water and marine.

Remarks. The specimen NTUM 12343 provides a significant new depth record from 175 m depth; the species was previously known only from 2–40 m depth.