Tread Carefully

Walking along the shoreline the other week we encountered a fish washed up on the shingle. Long spined Scorpion Fish are not scarce but they often camouflage themselves chameleon like within their surroundings and so go unnoticed. Having several sets of spines to catch out the unwary the diagnostic one at the edge of the  gill cover helps to distinguish the Long spined from the Short Spined Scorpion Fish. Not that it would matter if you trod on one without shoes. But there again if you were walking barefoot down the beach in January perhaps you’d deserve what you get!