Flathead Scorpionfish

Scorpaenopsis oxycephalus has an elongate body which becomes compressed towards the rear with a narrow intraorbital space. The upper posttemporal and upper opercular spines are simple. The occipital pit is either absent or very shallow. It has a very long snout and in adults there are numerous tentacles which form a beard around the mouth. There are 12 spines and 9 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 5 soft rays in the anal fin. The supraocular and postocular spines are widely merged in adults so that only the tip of the supraocular spine shows, and these flare outwards to create a ridge over the rear half of the eye. This species attains a maximum published total length of 36 cm (14 in), the largest species in the genus Scorpaenopsis.

Scorpaenopsis oxycephalus has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution which extends from the Red Sea south to Sodwana Bay in South Africa and through the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf east to New Guinea, south to Australia and north to Taiwan and, probably, the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. In Australian waters this species is found on the Northwest Shelf off Western Australia, at Cartier Island in the Timor Sea and on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, as well as at Christmas Island. It has been reported from False Bay in South Africa. They inhabit reef slopes from only 1 to 35 meters.