![]() When a female stonefish has reached sexual maturity, she will lay her unfertilized eggs on the floor of the reef. The reef stonefish lives most of its life as a solitary animal, and during mating season only aggregates with the opposite sex for a short time. The venom consists of a mixture of proteins, including the hemolytic stonustoxin, the proteinaceous verrucotoxin, and the cardiotoxic cardioleputin. Surviving victims may have nerve damage, which can lead to local muscle atrophy. The immobilization of venom at penetration site using a tourniquet or firm constrictive bandaging is no longer recommended. First aid includes immersion of the affected limb in hot water this is thought to help denature the proteins in the venom. Medical treatment includes the antivenom. A large dose can be fatal to humans, generally young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Įffects of the venom include severe pain, shock, paralysis, and tissue death. The protein makeup differs between the three species of stonefish, but in reef stonefish the fatal protein is the verrucotoxin protein. ![]() Stonefish venom can be fatal at a dose of only 18mg, which the fish is capable of releasing with only six of its thirteen spines. The spines are sharp and stiff and have been known to pierce boot soles. Its dorsal area is lined with 13 spines, each of which has two venom sacs. The reef stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. Toxicity Synanceia verrucosa in a public aquarium It is consumed in the Philippines, especially in Chinese restaurants, and in Japan. It is also sold for meat in Hong Kong markets. The primary commercial significance of this stonefish is as an aquarium pet. Some stonefish have been recorded striking their prey in 0.015 seconds. The stonefish will then engulf its prey, doing so at incredible speeds. It captures prey by sitting motionless on the reef floor and waiting for animals to swim by. The reef stonefish eats mostly small fish, shrimp and other crustaceans. The 13 dorsal spines with attendant venom sacs are an additional adaption that protect the animal when necessary. ![]() Their skin texture and color is highly irregular which helps them hide and remain camouflaged when among rocks and corals. The reef stonefish has evolved many adaptations to help them succeed in the reef bottom. It may settle on and around rocks and plants, or rest on the seabed. It has since been observed in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Israel. verrucosa in the far eastern Mediterranean Sea since at least 2010 as one was caught near Yavne, Israel - an introduction due either to the release of aquarium specimens or to migrations via the Suez Canal. There is recent evidence showing the presence of S. It is the most widespread species in the stonefish family, and is known from shallow tropical marine waters in the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, ranging from the Red Sea and coastal East Africa to French Polynesia, southern Japan and surrounding Taiwan. This stonefish lives primarily north of the Tropic of Capricorn. This species reaches a maximum recorded total length of 40 cm (16 in) but 27 cm (11 in) is more typical. The small upwardly directed eyes have a deep pit behind them with a smaller pit underneath them. The skin has no scales but there are numerous warts. The dorsal spines are of equal length with a thicker sheath of skin containing the venom glands at their base. The dorsal fin contains between 12 and 14 spines and 5 and 7 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 5 or 6 soft rays. Synanceia verrucosa are usually brown or grey, and may have areas of yellow, orange, or red. ![]() The specific name verrucosa means “covered with verrucas or warts”, an allusion to the warty growths all over its body. Bloch and Schneider described a new genus, Synanceia, for this species, but in 1856 Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest designated Scorpaena horrida which had been described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, as the type species of Synanceia. Synanceia verrucosa was first formally described in 1801 by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider with the type locality given as India. It is the deadliest fish in the sea, with highly effective venom which can be lethal to humans. It is the most widespread species of stonefish, mostly found in shallow waters of the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific. Synanceia verrucosa, the reef stonefish or simply stonefish, is a species of venomous, marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Synanceiinae which is classified as being within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. Reef stonefish in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
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