Puffer Fish

Name : Puffer Fish

Scientific Name: Sphoeroides maculatus

FAQ:

• Size: typically small to medium in size, although a few species can reach lengths of greater than 100 centimeters (39 in)
• Puffer fish are generally believed to be the second–most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the Golden Poison Frog. Certain internal organs, such as liver, and sometimes their skin are highly toxic to most animals when eaten, but nevertheless the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan
• . Their back up defense mechanism, used if they are successfully pursued, is to fill their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are much larger and almost spherical in shape. Even if they are not visible when the puffer is not inflated, all puffers have pointed spines, so a hungry predator may suddenly find itself facing an unpalatable pointy ball rather than a slow, tasty fish. Predators which don't heed this warning (or who are "lucky" enough to catch the puffer suddenly, before or during inflation) may die from choking, and predators that do manage to swallow the puffer may find their stomachs full of tetrodotoxin, making puffers an unpleasant, possibly lethal, choice of prey. This neural-toxin is found primarily in the ovaries and liver, although smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin, as well as trace amounts in muscle. It does not always have a lethal effect on large predators, such as sharks, but it can kill humans.
• Diet: feeds primarily on shellfish, and occasionally on fin fish. Using its beak-like mouth it can extract shellfish from their shells and sometimes break the shells to obtain a meal.

DANGER RATING: 4/5