A small sand-dwelling fish of European shores, buried in the shallows, and the commonest cause of venomous stings on those coasts.
Small, to about 15 cm, sandy brown with a black first dorsal fin. It buries in clean sand in very shallow water, often in a few centimetres at low tide, and stays there.
It is the commonest venomous injury on European beaches and it happens to waders rather than to divers. For a diver the same rule applies as for its larger relative: it is a hazard to a hand or a knee put down on sand.
Booties or fins solve it for anyone entering from a beach. It is a small fish and the sting is out of proportion to its size.
This entry carries no occurrence record. The animal is listed because it is a hazard a diver should be able to look up, and its range is given above, but none of the destinations this site holds data for is inside that range. A record will be added when there is one to add rather than an estimate to invent.