Parasitic Isopods of the Ryukyu Islands

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Scorpionfish, lionfish and stonefish all belong to the family Scorpaenidae. They all are well camouflaged and highly venomous. Their defensive spines can deliver a painful sting. It’s best to wear exposure protection and maintain good bouncy control to avoid getting envenomated by these ambush predators.

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In the 1980’s Robert Bolland stumbled upon an interesting underwater find. He found a tiny undescribed isopod hitching a ride on a scorpionfish. 1984 the parasitic isopod Renocila bollandi from Okinawa was named after him.

Renocila bollandi from

Over the years I photographed a dozen of these orange Isopods (Renocilla bollandi)

I have always wondered,

  • What is the relationship between the two?
  • Is the relationship mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism?
  • Why does the isopod only prefer venomous fish (scorpionfish) as its host?
  • Why does the isopod always stay close to the eye?

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Scorpionfish Okinawa

Scorpaenopsis diabolus scorpionfish

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See why they call it the bearded scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis cirrhosa).

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Learn more about the hazardous marine life of Okinawa.

Learn more about Robert Bolland and his research at The Okinawa Slug Site.

 My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link  paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

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