Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
A Leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triancanthus) is almost impossible to see as it holds itself next to a piece of identically colored algae amidst the wash of a coral outcrop in the Maldives. Our cameraman, Joe Lepore, said he would have swam right past this fish had not it been pointed out by a guide from the charter company we used to conduct our expedition. Slightly venomous, the Leaf scorpionfish hides itself from both predator and prey with its adaptive camouflage. The scorpionfish molts every 10 to 14 days and when this happens it can completely change color.
Filmed on expedition in the Maldives as we worked with a team of international science divers to help inform that country's Marine Spatial Plan.
A Leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triancanthus) is almost impossible to see as it holds itself next to a piece of identically colored algae amidst the wash of a coral outcrop in the Maldives. Our cameraman, Joe Lepore, said he would have swam right past this fish had not it been pointed out by a guide from the charter company we used to conduct our expedition. Slightly venomous, the Leaf scorpionfish hides itself from both predator and prey with its adaptive camouflage. The scorpionfish molts every 10 to 14 days and when this happens it can completely change color.
Filmed on expedition in the Maldives as we worked with a team of international science divers to help inform that country's Marine Spatial Plan.
