Spawn of a Hurricane? Tropical lionfish a mystery off U.S. coast. (Ecology).(Brief Article)

Sporting a wild mane of venomous spines, lionfish live only in tropical Indo-Pacific seas. Or so it was thought.

Now, according to biologist Paula Whitfield, there are at least 19 in the waters off North Carolina. In August 2000 divers sighted two lionfish near a ship-wreck 40 miles off the coast; the rest of the fish are scattered, including this one (right), which was found near another wreck. The species has also been spotted off Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Long Island, and Bermuda. There is a remote chance that lionfish eggs, larvae, or ...

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