: any of several small spiny venomous bony fishes (family Synanceiidae, especially genus Synanceja) common about coral reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific
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But the stonefish plays an entirely different game.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2026 The stonefish is a master of camouflage and often hides itself in coral and rocky reefs.—
Ashlyn Messier,
Fox News,
9 Aug. 2023 The stonefish produces intense vasoconstriction.—
Manasee Wagh,
Popular Mechanics,
19 Jan. 2023 Ambush predators, like stonefish and scorpionfish, are good examples: The broken patterns of fluorescence on these fishes may help them blend into a fluorescing reef background.—Smithsonian,
25 July 2019 The lead author of the study, W. Leo Smith, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Kansas, has kept stonefish in aquaria.—
Nicholas Bakalar,
New York Times,
4 June 2018 In addition to poison dart frogs and venomous snakes, visitors will see exhibits on Snow White, and dangerous creatures in the Aquarium (lionfish, scorpionfish, stonefish, rabbitfish and more).—
Sarah Maiellano,
USA TODAY,
4 June 2018 Wispy waspfish are a species of stonefish, a group inhabiting Indian and Pacific coastal waters that are among the deadliest in the oceans.—
Charles Choi,
Discover Magazine,
13 Apr. 2018