What's a Pufferfish?
Image credits: National Geographic
The world of underwater is surely a strange one.
These amazing creatures are also one heck of architects, where males build beautiful designs on the ocean floors to attract their female counterparts. These beautiful designs had, for a long time, puzzled sea divers until recently the main culprit was caught.
There are more than 120 species of pufferfishes in the wild aquatic ecosystems! They are usually found in the warm coastal waters while some even live in the fresh waters. They generally have a tapered torpedo shaped body with bulged eyes.
There is a misconception that pufferfishes have a beak but instead, all their teeth are fused together to form a beak like shape which they use to scrap algae off the rocks and corals, and sometimes they use to crack open the shells of its preys.
They come in varied colors and sizes, from puny 1 inch to giant 2 feet long.
Puffing
The most notable feature of the Pufferfishes, and the one which gave it its name, is its ability to puff up into a giant spherical ball by swallowing water and expanding its elastic body. Some species are covered with small spines that stick out when puffed. This is a very effective defense mechanism if you are surrounded by beasts that want to eat you. The puffed pufferfishes can choke the attackers to death, hence making them a difficult prey to hunt for food.
But apart from the lethal spines, Pufferfishes have an another line of defense: POISON!
Yes some species of Pufferfish are highly posionous due to a neurotoxin: tetrodotoxin, mostly concentrated in their livers, gonads and skin. Its poison is very effective against most of the aquatic animals and humans but certains sharks can digest its poison and avoid its side effects.
Pufferfishes are also a very rare and dangereous delicay. In Japan, very few and trained chefs are allowed to prepare the Pufferfish dish: Fugu. The chefs need to be very careful while preparing the dish, making sure it is free of all the toxins. Yet many people die every year after consuming the poisonous Fugu.
However, not all the Pufferfishes are poisionous and are easier to prepare. Still when you are about to gorge a Pufferfish down into your stomach, just be careful.
Science Blurt. Because Everything is Science.
