AnimalsCoral Reef
Lionfish Fun facts for kids
Pterois volitans
The lionfish lives on warm coral reefs near Asia and Australia and eats small fish, shrimp and crabs.
- Where it lives
- on warm coral reefs near Asia and Australia
- What it eats
- small fish, shrimp and crabs
- How big it is
- about as long as a grown-up's forearm
Fun facts about the lionfish
The ones Sammy likes best. She tells them in the game, too.
A lionfish can squirt little jets of water at small fish, which may confuse them.
A lionfish can go for weeks or even months without eating anything.
After a big meal, a lionfish's tummy can stretch to many times its normal size.
Many lionfish peel off the outer layer of their skin again and again, which may help keep tiny pests away.
A lionfish slowly spreads its wide fins to trap small fish by the reef, then swallows them in a super fast gulp.
A mother lionfish can lay about 2 million eggs in a year, wrapped in floating balls of jelly.
Its big striped fins look like a lion's mane, and that's how it got its name.
Its long spines carry venom, but it uses them only to protect itself, never for hunting.
Riddle
Can a friend guess it?
Read the clues to someone, one at a time, without saying the animal. How many clues do they need? Fewer is better, just like in the game.
I live on warm coral reefs, and during the day I like to rest in caves.
I can go for weeks or even months without eating anything at all.
I squirt little jets of water at small fish, and that may confuse them.
I trap small fish against the reef with my wide fins, then swallow them in one fast gulp.
I'm striped, my big fins look like a mane, and my long spines carry venom.
Sammy might be thinking of a lionfish.
In Thought Zoo, Sammy picks an animal and you ask her yes-or-no questions to find it. You'll find the lionfish in the Coral Reef adventure.
Play the Coral ReefComing to iPad, iPhone and Android on 12 January 2027
