In the Black and Azov sea you can find a very interesting fish that has unusual and fearsome appearance, resembles a real sea monster. A large head covered with outgrowths , huge bulging eyes, a hefty mouth with thick lips and many sharp teeth, rays of the dorsal fin, similar to real thorns. This terrible inhabitant of the depths of the sea is called a sea ruff, or in another way, scorpion.
Small but formidable predator
This monster belongs to a large family of scorpion - marine ray-fin fish - included in the order of scorpion-shaped and numbering more than 20 genera and 209 species. Representatives of this family live in the waters of tropical and temperate seas, but most prefer the Indo-Pacific region. The genus Scorpion itself (sea ruff, representative of the genus), numbering 62 species, is distributed in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and the seas belonging to their basins.
In our country, you can find two types of scorpions - noticeable scorpion and Black Sea scorpion (sea ruff). The Black Sea, by the way, is not the only place where this amazing fish lives. She was seen even in the fresh water of the mouth of the Shapsuho River in the Caucasus, not to mention the Sea of Azov.
Scorpion - fish is relatively small, on average, its size does not exceed 15-20 cm. Rare specimens reach a length of half a meter. By its way of life, the ruff of the sea belongs to predators. The basis of his diet is small fish, crustaceans, invertebrates. Since the sea ruff is very difficult to notice even from close range, it does not chase its prey, but lies motionless at the bottom and waits for the victim to come close to it, after which it makes a short rapid throw.
Caution, scorpion!
The view of the sea ruff is indeed very formidable. The body of the scorpion has an elongated, somewhat compressed lateral shape, covered with small rough scales, and a fin, consisting of a number of sharp spikes. Particularly impressive is the large head covered with numerous spikes and outgrowths, as well as a large wide-lip mouth. The ruff of the sea is painted quite variegated: on a brown background, the shade of which can be very different, many dark spots and stripes are scattered. The same spots and stripes are on the fins. A peculiarity of the scorpion is that it periodically (on average - once a month) it molts. In this case, the upper layer of skin is shed by a stocking (like snakes), under which there is a new one - more fresh and bright.
At the base of the spikes covering the body of the scorpion, there are channels in which the deadly poison is located. But the ruff uses its poisonous thorns solely for protection purposes. If a thorn is stuck in the body, poison is injected into the wound, from which the injection site swells and begins to hurt very much, like from a wasp sting. With numerous wounds, even a fatal outcome is possible (which is extremely rare). In this case, it is necessary to do everything possible so that the injection site bleeds as much as possible to prevent further poison from entering the body, treat this place with hot water and contact a medical institution, even if the pain gradually begins to subside. By the way, when cleaning already caught fish, safety measures must also be observed.
Despite the menacing appearance, the sea ruff, whose photo reminds of real monsters, is not just edible - its white and juicy meat is considered a real delicacy. From scorpion you can cook many delicious dishes. The ear and ruff baked in foil are especially popular. Because they often become a welcome prey for lovers of fishing or spearfishing, because due to their inactivity they allow you to swim very close to yourself.