The Stingers! Lion, Scorpion and Stone

The family Scorpaenidae is composed by several subfamilies which have in common a large and spiny head with a bony crest on the cheek.

They all wear venomous spines. The stings create a strong pain and a numb of the area injured and an extreme weakness.

This impressive defense way is also a system of preys capture. Usually on the bottom or hided under rocks or in corals, they are all carnivorous feeding crustaceans and fishes.

The Common Lionfish hunts sometimes during the day in blue water, amongst schools of small fishes. It takes characteristic attitudes: Fins opened and head down in order to attract fishes between their spines and to swallow them. They use also this comportment in order to repulse one intruder showing it their dorsal fin and their spines.

Others as the Scorpionfishes and Stonefishes prefer the camouflage technique in order to avoid predators and to feed. They are similar to the environment hunting on the lookout during the day and actively during the night. The inflicted injuries by the dorsal fin of these fishes are considered as the more dangerous venomous injuries and are potentially fatal.

The Lionfish sub family is colorful with red, purple, yellow and white straps. The pectoral and dorsal fins are long. The venomous system is composed by 6 to 13 dorsal spines. The pain is very strong during few hours with a swelling more or lest important decreases in the time. Usually, they hide during the day and hunt ay night. The Scorpionfish sub family is more or less colored and use the camouflage technique.

The venomous system is composed by 12 dorsal, one pectoral and three anal pines. The venom glands are inside the tissues around the spine. After the sting, the venom and some fragments of tissues stay inside the injury. From this fact, appear toxic effects and inflammations due to the presence of intruders in the skin, strong pain and swelling.

The Stonefish sub family uses the infallible camouflage technique. Their skin less colorful and irregular produces mucus helping to fix algae, coral debris or sand in order to increase their invisibility. The venomous system is composed by 13 dorsal erectable spines and pectoral and anal venomous spines.

These fishes are considered as the more venomous in the world. The venom is toxic for muscle, heart, neurons and blood. It is thermo labile around 50 degrees Celsius. The symptoms and gravity are depending on the injected dose of venom, the size of the fish and the subject injured. The pain is brutal and appears a swelling of the area and a cyanosis. The person can feel nausea and vertigo. Breathing or heat distresses can be fatal. Some fatalities can appear by secondary complications as infections in lymph or blood or by tetanus. Fortunately, stings are rare and most of the time under feet.

REPRODUCTION: a sexual reproduction provides ovoid or round eggs which are 1 mm size and larvae are pelagic. Drifting in current, the tiny juveniles stop on the bottom.

Treatment for Scorpaenidae injury:

- Immediately remove the injuried victim from the water to avoid sinking
- Immediately immerse the lesion in hot water for up to one hour. Do not use more than 45 degrees Celsius to avoid burning
- Breathing and heart medical check and act if necessary
- Prevent Choc and infections
- Only one serum is actually efficient against Stonefish injuries: Stonefish antivenin Common Wealth Serum Laboratories, Department of Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

PREVENTION

- Do not touch anything under water
- Wear shoes with strong sole if you need to walk in Indo-Pacific Ocean lagoons
- Do not walk on stony bottoms and coral reefs

CONCLUSION

Enjoy the beauty of these fishes which are dangerous only for irresponsible divers, snorkelers or swimmers!

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (10)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Cheap coach handbags

Cheap coach handbags various thousand US bucks alligator skins, python package. no make any difference whether Coach Sling Bags has conflicted using the very effortless to acquire high-quality products strategy.

Cheap coach handbags , April 27, 2012

Cheap Replica Handbags

Cheap Handbags crafted by one of these masters is a admired control because Discount Bags adorableness and looks notwithstanding

Cheap Handbags , March 28, 2012

fake designer handbag

It is a very good article. Thank you for your sharing. Fake handbags are one particular solution since it is bargain priced, affordable and precisely what those having a fashion budget search for. Click here you can find what you want cheap replica Mulberry handbags and replica bally.

replica d&g handbags , February 25, 2012

http://www.buybuybag.com

When the weather is getting warmer, parties are become the most popular way to celebrate. At gathering time, I guess girls need to dress up carefully, they also need to choose their accessories, like designer handbags and purses, and they just want to be low-key apparently but actually they just want to be the eye-catching one.
women handbags

women bags , February 23, 2012

...

but some locations do not know see the small jiujiancilang in the void, so to find target in advance.Small jiujiancilang by blow fly got up from the ground after himself-after a while. ghost north face coats says let care locations before the north face,locations also just think do not have pride on the line, only now it seems things doesn't think so."The north face to remember and store said skills instead of bells and whistles on the line." Look buried his face in the small jiujiancilang the north face JI angrily locations road again.

northface coats , February 06, 2012

nice watches

The world markets are flooded with the stores and the retails that are dealing in the cheap replica rolex day-date watches . The selection of thecheap rolex datejust watches is largely dependent on the trends of the season, the purchasing power of the customers, their needs and the style preferences.

cheap replica iwc spitfire watches , February 03, 2012

sell cheap wedding dress

wonderful blog.I'm very happy, share with you. I think colored Pronovias wedding dress can

foil a person's complexion, isn't it? If you want to become more

perfect, you should try to colored Mori Lee wedding dress.

Mori Lee , January 20, 2012

http://www.monbellebridal.com

I am quite sure they will learn lots of new stuff here than any one else!it is best to leave pressing of the entire pronovias abanico gown up to a professional dry cleaner or the pronovias abeto wedding dress store, but you can remove small wrinkles yourself.

pronovias abeto wedding dress , January 16, 2012

swiss replica watches

high swiss replica panerai watches
quality ,low price, don't miss it ...belive you can get it.high quality replica watches wholesale

swiss replica watches , December 06, 2011

best article!

Beneficial post. You write great, keep up the nice work and I am going to keep on browsing! Looking to obtain a new replica porsche design watch to match your new outfit you purchased for that special event? If you are usually, then you can easily consider buying rado watches replica.

Write comment

Coming Issue

Next edition in English

next English issue will be available in March ...

Calendar of events

May 2012

Post Your Event

THE LAND WHERE MONASTICISM WAS BORN

A mystical journey in the Red Sea Hidden deep in the Eastern Desert mountain range, at around 200 km. north of Hurghada, and very close to the skies, seventy Coptic monks still observe rituals that ...
Read More...

Dangers of the Deep

On 4th September 2006, well-known conservationist, zoo owner and television personality Steve Irwin had a particularly bad day at the office. Maybe he was up to his usual daredevil tricks; maybe it wa...
Read More...

rEvo rEvolution 2009

In the summer of 2009 Paul Raymaekers of rEvo Rebreathers' went with his family to the ORCA Dive Club, Safaga, on the Red Sea. At the end of his holiday he was so impressed by the technical divin...
Read More...

The ART of Diving

This wonderful coffee-table book started out as a feature called ‘The Zen of Diving’, written by UK journalist and author Nick Hanna for a special edition of the ‘body and soul’ section of The...
Read More...

SAWIRIS SPEAKS

Samih Sawiris has often been described as a business visionary. He is the driving force of Orascom Touristic Projects and Development and Orascom Hotel Holdings, two of the region’s most su...
Read More...

Name:	*
Username:	*
E-mail:	*
Password:	*
Verify Password:	*
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

H2O Magazine