After many unconfirmed sightings in the Caribbean last June, this past November a live volitan lionfish, Pterois volitans, was captured off the southwest coast of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands . The spread of lionfish has been felt up and down the east coast of North America. The alarm with the lionfish is that this predatory animal consumes anything and everything that will fit in it’s mouth and due to it’s venomous nature there are few predators interested in making a meal out of the invader. Since it’s arrival in the early 2000’s, juveniles of naturally occuring species have become increasingly scarce. If the lionfish continues to spread in the Caribbean, royal grammas, pigmy angels and many other popular Atlantic fish may become a lot harder to find. For further information hit the read link.
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