Poison fish

As poison fish are fish referred to the toxins produce or accumulate ( sequester ). Poisonous fish can be found among both cartilaginous fish and bony fish . The number of poisonous fish species is estimated at 1200, which is considerably more than the poisonous snake species .

A distinction is made between actively poisonous fish and passively poisonous fish.

The actively poisonous fish use the toxins they produce to ward off enemies or for food. The poison can be actively transmitted through teeth or spikes. Actively poisonous cartilaginous fish are found in the sea cats (Chimaeriformes), the bull head sharks ( Heterodontus ) and the stingray-like (Myliobatiformes). Among the real bony fish (Teleostei), species of frog fish ( Batrachoididae), species of scorpion fish (Scorpaenidae), weever males (Trachinidae), sky-gazers (Uranoscopidae) and rabbit fish (Siganidae) have poisonous spines (the saber-toothed slime fishes).

Passively poisonous fish produce toxins in certain organs or accumulate toxins produced by other organisms through the food chain in their body. If consumed, these substances can lead to fish poisoning . The passively poisonous fish include soap bass (Grammistini), puffer fish (Tetraodontidae), porcupine fish (Diodontidae) and box fish (Ostraciidae).

In the literature, there are also the terms poisonous fish for fish that have a poison apparatus for the production or absorption of poisons, and poisonous fish, the consumption of which can be hazardous to health.

Individual evidence

^ Robert Roy Britt: Venomous Fish Outnumber Snakes Live Sciences, August 22, 2006.
↑ Wolfgang Wirth, Christian Gloxhuber, Gerhard Hecht: Toxicology primer for doctors, pharmacists, natural scientists, lawyers and students. Excerpt from books.google.de (accessed on March 28, 2010).
^ Edwin Stanton Faust: Die Tierischen Gifte Excerpt from books.google.de (accessed on March 28, 2010).

literature

Dietrich Mebs : Poisonous animals. A manual for biologists, toxicologists, doctors, pharmacists. Scientific publishing company, Stuttgart 1992 ISBN 3-8047-1219-3
Matthias Bergbauer, Robert Myers, Manuela Kirschner: The cosmos handbook dangerous marine animals. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, 2008, ISBN 3-440-10945-3
Kurt Fiedler: Textbook of Special Zoology, Volume II, Part 2: Fish . Pages 190 to 193, Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1991, ISBN 3-334-00339-6

[Live_Sciences-1] Robert Roy Britt: Venomous Fish Outnumber Snakes Live Sciences, August 22, 2006.

[2] Wolfgang Wirth, Christian Gloxhuber, Gerhard Hecht: Toxicology primer for doctors, pharmacists, natural scientists, lawyers and students. Excerpt from books.google.de (accessed on March 28, 2010).

[3] Edwin Stanton Faust: Die Tierischen Gifte Excerpt from books.google.de (accessed on March 28, 2010).