Lionfish

Photo: 808_Diver · CC BY-NC

Lionfish station themselves in the shadowed undersides of boulder overhangs at Rock Garden, often hanging motionless and head-down in a posture that disguises their outline against the encrusting fauna. Their venomous dorsal spines are a passive defence system rather than an active weapon, and their primary hunting method is to herd small fish into corners using their broad pectoral fins before a lightning strike. Multiple individuals occupying the same overhang is common, suggesting some tolerance of conspecifics in food-rich microhabitats.