The most poisonous fish in the world: a photo with description

The survival of living organisms in the wild largely depends on their adaptability to habitats. But what is the ocean? For a diver, he is full of fairy-tale miracles: colorful fish, colorful corals. For the gourmet, the ocean is a supplier of various delicacies: seafood, shellfish and other aquatic creatures. But in reality it is a rather cruel world where everyone eats something until it becomes the prey of a bloodthirsty predator. Therefore, mimicry is important in the water environment. Predators tend to become invisible in order to get closer to the prey. And the latter wants to show with all his might a potential threat that it can not be eaten. The bright coloring of the fish is like shouting: "I'm poisonous!" And often this is true. The theme of this article will be the most poisonous fish in the world. We will examine where they are found and tell us what to do in order to alleviate the suffering of the person who became their victim, and even save his life. Paradoxically, there are such inhabitants of the seas, which combine deadly poison and delicacy meat in their bodies. One such is the poisonous Japanese fugu fish. It can only be found in specialized restaurants. But in this case it is better to make a will before dinner. Little things that can happen ...

Pisces and people: a bit of history

Probably, mankind first encountered poisonous inhabitants of the seas in the Stone Age. Because already at the dawn of civilization, on the pyramids of the pharaohs of the fifth dynasty (2700 years BC), there is a hieroglyph depicting a dog-fish. She gained fame in China, too. In the "Book of Herbs" - a medical treatise written in the period 2838-2700 gg. BC. E. - gives a detailed description of how to treat gourmets who have been careless enough to regale the meat of this fish. What to eat and what to avoid the Jews, the Bible book "Deuteronomy" (1450 BC) teaches. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder tried to describe the species dangerous to health, living in the Mediterranean Sea. In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries in the network Europeans began to fall into the poisonous fish of tropical and equatorial latitudes. James Cook gave a description of the pufferfish in 1774. During his second trip around the world he (with sixteen other crew members) was poisoned by the meat of this fish. Although, as everybody knows, he did not die from this. Unfortunately, such useful science as zootoxinology, studying poisons accumulated in the organisms of living beings, as well as their possible use in medicine, appeared only in the twentieth century.

A little more theory

On land there are also enough poisonous creatures. Plants, mushrooms, insects, amphibians and reptiles ... However, land is not compared to the ocean. Many inhabitants of the seas are poisonous in one way or another: fish, jellyfish, snakes, corals. What makes them so? Many carnivores, being less mobile than their prey, lie in wait for it in cover. Their poison is aimed at quickly immobilizing the victim, paralyzing it. Such predators are dangerous teeth and thorns. Some stun their lunch with electric discharge. These are skates. Victims in the course of species evolution acquire means of "individual chemical protection". Many fish in addition to a bright, memorable color are poisonous spines. Predator, grabbing such a prey, not only pricked, but also poisoned. There are also such poisonous fish, which have very dangerous mucus on the body. Touching it leads to poisoning. In the classification of all these fish are called actively poisonous. "Do not touch me, or you'll regret it!" - says only their bristled look. But those who like to feast on the seafood, you should be afraid of very different fish. They are called passively poisonous. Evolution led to the protection of the population, but not of an individual. In appearance - an ordinary fish. But you eat it - and you'll get poisoned. The surviving predator will think ten times before trying to taste one of her relatives.

What do you need to know about fish lovers?

If you do not plunge into the troubled waters of the seas to come face to face with the inhabitants of coral reefs, and even if you do not run barefoot along the water's edge, do not think that you are completely protected from poisonous creatures. You can poison them in the restaurant. In this sense, the primary and secondary-toxic fish are distinguished. The first produce a deadly secret. It can accumulate in thorns, teeth, on scales. Sometimes poison is a product of metabolism. In this case, meat of fish or its caviar and milk can not be eaten. In moray eels, for example, the blood is poisonous. Other inhabitants of the seas - all meat. But secondarily poisonous fish are no less dangerous. They accumulate in their body harmful substances from the reservoir - their habitat. For example, blue-green algae, which fish eat, secrete cyanides. Thus, you can poison yourself with an ordinary gudgeon if it is caught from such a pond. Washing out of the soil of fertilizers, which with rains drain into ponds, also makes their inhabitants secondary poisonous. Nitrates work well only on plants, not on humans. Therefore it is important to know about where the catch comes from before trying it.

Which fish is the most poisonous?

And did you know that the most dangerous inhabitant of the ocean is ... a jellyfish. "Clear Killer" refers to this species, living in tropical waters off the coast of Australia. Its tentacles follow the dome for thirty meters. Her touch paralyzes the human heart muscle, causing sudden death in 100% of cases. Also at the shores of the Green Continent lives a small blue-eyed octopus weighing only 70 grams. However, this baby in two seconds is capable of killing ten people with its poison. Fish do not lag behind jellyfish, shellfish and snakes. Every year more than 50 thousand people become victims of them - incomparably more than from sharks. The most poisonous fish in the world is Synanceia verrucosa, or wart, from the Scorpion family. On its dorsal fin there is a thorn, the prick of which causes such severe pain that a person loses consciousness. The poison, injected into the blood, leads to the collapse of blood vessels and cardiac arrest. In this case, everyone can see the danger is difficult even near. For the purpose of camouflage, this small fish takes shape and the color of the environment. It is very difficult to distinguish it from a piece of coral or cobblestone. And because it is also called a "fish-stone." The nearest relatives of wart, scorpion (or sea scorpions), also possess the properties of a chameleon. In addition, they tend to dig into the sand or silt at low tide. Therefore, to step on their extremely poisonous spike, there is no need to dive into the dangerous world of coral reefs.

Where are the most poisonous fish in the world?

Most predators who do not chase prey, but who are trapped by it, live in the tropical seas of the Indian Ocean. They are teeming with water off the coasts of Southeast Asia, East Africa, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia. Enough dangerous creatures in the Pacific. On the shores of Japan fugue, or pufferfish, is found. But the most dangerous place on Earth in terms of the density of poisonous inhabitants per one cubic liter of water is Australia. And that's not counting sharks, electric rays, jellyfish and shellfish! And there are 51 species of water snakes, of which the Guinness Book for poisonousness is listed Hydrophis bseheris, an inhabitant of the Timor Sea. No less dangerous are the local sea fish: poisonous wart, scorpion, lionfish, and inimicus. And you need to know this by going on vacation to the Green Continent. Seven of the top dozens of the most dangerous species live just off the coast of Australia. But with global warming, many inhabitants of tropical latitudes began to move farther from the equator. They are already met near the coast of Chile, Japan, South China. But even in the Red, Mediterranean and even the Black Seas, too, there is enough of its unsafe creatures. In general, scientists described two hundred and twenty species of poisonous fish. In a word, they simply can not be counted.

What to do in case of poisoning?

Most people become victims of active-poisonous fish. And not because they are chasing inexperienced swimmers. These fish, if they are predators, inject toxins into smaller prey. More often, poisonous spines serve as a means of individual protection against large and toothy fish. What do swimmers need to remember? Do not step on the corals and do not touch them with your hands. For recreation in the tropics it is better to buy special bathing shoes (because, in addition to fish, there is still a danger of stepping on the sea urchin - also poisonous, between other things). If possible, you should avoid wild beaches. And do not miss the hands of the inhabitants of the depths coming up close to you - you do not know which fish are poisonous and which ones are not. If you still feel the prick, immediately get out on the land or call for help. Toxins, affecting the nervous system, operate at lightning speed, and a person can die if not provided timely assistance. First of all, measures must be taken to eliminate the poison. If this is a hand, the victim himself can suck the poisoned blood from the wound, spitting it. In the leg, toxins can be squeezed out by pressing from both sides around the affected area. Further, the victim needs to alleviate the pain, because often it is intolerable and it can cause a faint or shock. At the site of the lesion, necrosis often occurs, there is a risk of re-infection and even gangrene. Therefore, the wound should be treated with a disinfectant.

Silent Assassins

If the body of the fish is covered with spines, it bristles with bristles, if its mouth is full of sharp teeth, then even a fool is clear that these creatures are very dangerous. And the very name of the poisonous fish speaks for itself: the pufferfish, the sea scorpion, the dragon, the tail, the prickly shark, the tuberculum is terrible, the inimicus, which in Latin means "enemy" ... But the local population in those places where these are found Dangerous creatures, yet they eat them. Having lost their frightening thorns, having been cleansed of poisonous mucus, they give very delicate and tasty meat. So, the inhabitants of Australia eat and praise the scorpion, and the fishermen of the Black Sea catch for the restaurants of sharks-katrans. But the passively-poisonous fish, photos of which you need to see to remember, more insidious. Nothing in their guise resembles those terrible monsters that beach lifeguards frighten rescuers at the resorts of the Red Sea. Nevertheless, in such an inoffensive-looking fish, like a cliff, lies poison, much more effective and quicker than cyanide potassium. Evolution does not care about preserving the life of one individual, but about the survival of a species. In addition, and this one fish for fear can swell and turn into a ball. This prey can get stuck in the throat. Having tasted one or two ... ten fish, all the predators of the Pacific now know that it is not worth swallowing a small skalozub.

Is it possible to poison our fish?

Poisonous fish of the Black Sea have several species. This is, above all, prickly shark katran, astrologer, mouse-lira, dragon. The sea devil and the ramp-cat come to Azov. In the seas washing the Far Eastern coast of Russia, live high-flying perch, astrologer, katran and skalozub, called fugu in Japan. In the Baltic to the number of dangerous fish include Kerchak and stingrays. As we see, among this cohort only the fugue is passively poisonous. All the rest after removing the thorns can be eaten without any fear. But there are all sorts of troubles. There are so-called seasonally poisonous fish of the Black Sea, and freshwater bodies too. These are some species of bream, carp, perch, as well as tench, barbus, barbel, kutum and others. During spawning it is possible to poison caviar and milk of these fishes. Serious danger comes from contaminated water bodies and from the rapid flowering of blue-green algae. In this case, even the most that is eatable fish becomes poisonous, as it accumulates toxins from the environment. In medicine, several outbreaks of "epidemics" among the population of the Kaliningrad region, around the lakes Yukovskoe (Leningrad region), Ukshozero (Karelia) and Sartlan (Novosibirsk region) were described.

Who is the fugue?

Undoubtedly, the most poisonous fish living in the Sea of Japan is the puffer. Sailors of the Kuril Islands call it a skalooon, while the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun are a fugue. This fish with a white belly and a gray-brown back does not have scales, but at the moment of danger it raises the skin plates and swells like a ball. However, this is not the danger of fugue. The poison that is contained in its meat, and especially in the liver, skin, genitalia, is so toxic that it is twenty-five times higher than curare and in 275 it is potassium cyanide. The active substance - tetrodotoxin - blocks the processes of nerve cells. Symptoms of severe poisoning appear in the first few minutes. The lethal outcome occurs during the first day. At first, a person feels a slight tingling in the lips and tongue. Then begins a headache and pain in the abdomen and limbs. The coordination of movements is lost, vomiting begins (in this case the patient still has a chance to survive). Soon, breathing becomes difficult, blood pressure decreases and body temperature decreases. Blueing of the mucous membranes and skin is observed. The patient falls into a coma, his breath stops. Unfortunately, the antidote against the poison of this fish is not yet open. But despite these chilling details, fugu meat is still considered a delicacy in Japan. Scientists have determined that these marine fish are poisonous only in adulthood. "Safe fugues" were grown, but they are not popular among gourmets.

The Samurai Nation

As we remember, the first European to taste a dish of poisonous fugu fish was James Cook. But the Japanese used it since ancient times. Fugu firmly entered the culture and art of the Land of the Rising Sun. In one of the parks in Tokyo, there is even a monument to this fish. What makes millions of Japanese in the literal sense of the word entrust their lives to the chef? After all, statistics show that every year several dozen people die from fugu poison and a much larger number of victims are hospitalized. Suicidal attitudes, balancing on the verge of life and death - this is all in abundance in Japanese culture. Mods on fugue were brought by samurai - severe knights, cold-blooded, ready to make hara-kiri, to keep a good name. For a long time, the authorities prohibited the catch of this fish. But in vain. It was sold in black markets. Now the cook has to pass special courses and pass the exam to get a license for cooking dishes from fugu. Before the commission, he must divide the carcass, prepare three dishes from it and ... taste each of them in a piece. And only with a happy outcome, the poisonous fugu fish, photo dishes with her decorate the restaurant menu.

Japanese view of Russian roulette

Why do not the people want to eat fugu meat that does not contain tetrodotoxin initially? Gourmets, who have tried such a safe fish, call it taste ordinary and even banal. Popular fish in Japan is poisonous, albeit with all the ensuing sad consequences. But just tickle the nerves come to the restaurant the Japanese? Dishes with possible, and this word should be emphasized, the poison cost from one hundred to five hundred dollars. Here's how they describe the taste of a dangerous gourmand fugu: "It is similar to Japanese art - as refined, refined, smooth as natural silk". The Europeans say that the fish looks like chicken, and looks like jelly in consistency. In dishes with fugue it is important not to completely eliminate the poison, but its presence in the lowest possible doses. Then the client feels something similar to the action of the drug. After all tetrodotoxin by activity exceeds in one hundred sixty thousand times cocaine! This was taken up by surgeons, using this substance in surgery to remove tumors. Of course, everything depends on the dose - both in medicine and in the kitchen. Passed the exam, the cook takes into account the weight of the client, his age, health status and even nationality. The restaurant employee is keenly watching the trape ders to notice the first alarming symptoms and take action. Poisonous Japanese fish is served in several variations. The most favorite dish is fugusashi. Of the finest slices of raw fish, the cook creates whole pictures. Served such a dish with sauces. Also popular is the soup of the poisonous fish - fugososun. Sometimes puffer boil and serve with accompanying ingredients.