Stone Fish: The Most Poisonous Fish in the World Is Found in Popular Resorts (9 photos)

The stonefish does not forgive mistakes. One wrong step - and you are already too late to get to the hospital. This is not a byte for views, but a very real threat to life. The stonefish, or wartfish, is the most toxic fish in the world, which regularly sends vacationers around the world to hospitals.





But after me, your vacation will definitely remain unforgettable!

So, who are we dealing with? The stonefish is quite large, up to 40 centimeters in length. But you are unlikely to find it, even if you look closely. For most of its life, the stonefish actually behaves like a stone: it lies among coral reefs, covered in sand and seaweed that the waves bring. So that you definitely do not notice the catch: instead of scales, its entire skin is covered with bumps and growths. It is almost impossible to understand where the fish begins and where the landscape continues in the stormy sea waters.



A dissatisfied piece of reef.

The fish is in no hurry to give itself away, even in times of danger. It is absolutely confident in its camouflage and inviolability. Even sharks do not touch it! Because all sea creatures are well aware of the toxicological capabilities of the living stone. Its poison is the deadliest among fish in the world! In its poison, the stonefish has mixed a potent cocktail of verrucotoxin, cardioleptin and stonutoxin. Once in the blood, it affects the nerve endings, heart and muscles, causing convulsions, paralysis, respiratory and cardiac arrest. Bonus - hellish pain, which can only be relieved by opioid painkillers.





- Do you see a fish in this picture? - No. - Neither do I. But it is there!

And here's the worst part: you don't even have to anger the fish to make it uncover its arsenal! It's enough just not to notice! The poison capsules are located on the dorsal fin. 14 razor-sharp spines are so strong that they can pierce even the sole! As soon as the foot gets critically close to the stone fish, the fan of poisoned needles straightens out. For an adult, only 18 milligrams of poison is enough for the above-described bad trip, which means it is enough to prick yourself with just 6 of the 14 spines.



I challenge you to a duel!

Maybe it would be better to buy a tour to a place where this vermin does not live? Of course! There are many seas and beaches where you will definitely not meet a stonefish. For example, the Barents and White Seas. Or how about the Chukchi Sea? Because stonefish live in the seas of the Indo-Pacific basin. That is, all bodies of water connected to the ocean, from the Red Sea to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, are potentially dangerous. Yes, all these warm sandy beaches like in the Bounty advert may well become a place to meet the most poisonous fish on the planet. We bet tour operators haven't told you about this?



I never thought that playing staring contest with a stone could be so interesting!

Does the stonefish have nothing better to do than sit and watch for tourists? Well, actually, no. Its entire life is reduced to ambush hunting - for small fish, shrimp and your legs. It catches the first two with its toothy mouth with an astonishing reaction speed of 0.015 seconds. For comparison, the average human reaction speed is 0.2 seconds. 13 times slower! But remember - the stonefish does not attack us, people get a poisonous injection when they step on it.



Or they start touching unknown things on the shore.

Once a year, stonefish take a short break and put off their toxic work for the sake of mating. There is nothing interesting here, though. Females lay eggs on the bottom of the reef, males pour milt on them, and each goes home. No mating games or other nonsense, they have a heart of stone.



If my relatives looked like this, I wouldn't have contact with them for long either...

So what now, go on vacation to the north? Why not! But if it's still important for you to warm your bones on the beach, then do it wisely. When diving, be sure to wear shoes with thick rubber soles. VERY thick! And once again - watch where you step carefully. And it's better to swim above the corals, it will be safer. In addition to the stone fish, there are many other poisonous reptiles there! And one more thing: do not swim alone and especially not "wild"! The sooner you get help, the better your chances of survival.



So that's who the Easter Island heads were painted from!

In order not to end the article on a minor note, here are a couple of facts to calm you down. Firstly, there are not many cases of death from stonefish in the world. Most often, all tourists who are unlucky enough to communicate with the fish face to face are taken to the hospital and injected with an antidote and painkiller. Secondly, people do not remain in debt: many locals catch stonefish for food. The main thing is to be careful, do not take them from the back and carefully cut them up. You can even prick yourself on the spines of a dead fish!



When you weigh yourself after visiting your grandma.