Biodiversity & Conservation

Lesser weever fish - Echiichthys vipera

Echiichthys vipera

Image Tammy Horton - Echiichthys vipera with dorsal fin held extended with a mounting needle. Image width ca 15cm.
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Distribution map

Echiichthys vipera recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Echiichthys vipera is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Authority Cuvier, 1829
Recent synonyms Trachinus vipera
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Found all around Britain, most abundant in the south and west.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Common on clean sandy bottoms from the low water mark to the shallow sub-littoral down to 50 m. The species lives buried in the sand with only the head and back uncovered. The species is probably most active at night.
Text page icon Description The lesser weever fish has a short stout body and grows up to 14cm in length. It has a large sloping mouth and pointed snout with eyes high on the head. The first dorsal fin is triangular and entirely black with an elongated first spine on the male. The second dorsal and anal fins extend almost to the tail and the pectoral fins are large and paddle shaped. The gill covers have a long spine pointing backwards. The fish is yellowish brown with a paler underside.
Identifying features
  • Oblique upward pointing mouth.
  • Small, black first dorsal fin.
  • Long second dorsal fin.
  • Large paddle shaped pectoral fins.
  • Yellowish brown in colour with a paler underside.
    Additional information icon Additional information The spines of the first dorsal fin and gill covers release a poison that give an extremely painful sting to bathers or fishermen treading on the buried fish. The name weever is derived from the Anglo-saxon word meaning viper and reflects the venomous nature of the fish.

    This review can be cited as follows:

    Paolo Pizzolla 2002. Echiichthys vipera. Lesser weever fish. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3221>