How are armoured sea robins protected from predators?

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Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa). — scorpaeniform Stonefish (*Synanceia verrucosa*).

Armoured sea robins, which are sometimes classified in the family Peristediidae, are protected from predators primarily by their physical structure. Unlike scaly sea robins, these deepwater fish have bodies covered in bony plates, providing them with a form of protective armour. Additionally, sea robins are characterized by having armoured bony heads.12

While these bony plates serve as a defensive barrier, the evolutionary development of such armour is often associated with animals that have limited capacity for fast locomotion, helping them survive in their environments.3