Weever is any one of a small group of marine fish best known for a painful sting. They inhabit European coastal waters and are sometimes found as far south as West Africa. They are particularly plentiful in the Mediterranean Sea. Most weevers live in shallow water, although the greater weever, found only in the Mediterranean, lives in moderately deep water.
Weevers range up to 15 inches (40 centimeters) in length, with rather elongated bodies. Their most notable feature is the spiny dorsal fin containing venom-producing tissue. Venom is also present in the spines on the gill covers. Sometimes bathers are stung when they tread on weevers, which tend to lie buried in the sand with only the eyes and dorsal fin exposed.
