Alcock's scorpionfish

<em>Minous inermis</em>, Alcock's Scorpionfish, is a saltwater member of the family Synanceiidae, the stonefishes and waspfishes—a group notorious for venomous dorsal spines capable of inflicting painful wounds. Adults grow to approximately 14 cm in length and have been recorded at depths ranging from 18 to 420 meters, indicating a wide depth tolerance from shallow coastal habitats to the upper bathypelagic zone. Members of the genus <em>Minous</em> are small, cryptically colored predators that rely on camouflage to ambush small fishes and invertebrates on soft or rocky substrates. The specific epithet <em>inermis</em> suggests reduced or absent armament relative to related species, though caution is always warranted with synanceiid fishes. Details of habitat and range for this species remain limited in the ichthyological literature. <em>M. inermis</em> has not been formally evaluated under IUCN criteria. The broad depth range of this species may reflect ontogenetic migration or habitat flexibility across different substrates of the continental shelf and upper slope.