17/07/2019
The puffer, which is also called swellfish, or blowfish, is any member of a group of about 90 species of fishes of the family Tetraodontidae, noted for their ability when disturbed to inflate themselves so greatly with air and water that they become globular in form. Puffers are found in warm and temperate regions around the world, primarily in the sea but also, in some instances, in brackish or fresh water. They have tough, usually prickly skins and fused teeth that form a beaklike structure with a split in the center of each jaw. The largest puffers grow about 90 cm (3 feet) long but most are considerably smaller.
Many species are poisonous; a highly toxic substance, tetraodontoxin, is especially concentrated in the internal organs. Although this substance can cause death, puffers are sometimes used as food. In Japan, where the fishes are called fugu , they must be carefully cleaned and prepared by a specially trained chef.
Lionfishes (Pterois) make up any of several species of showy Indo-Pacific fishes of the scorpion fish family, Scorpaenidae (order Scorpaeniformes). They are noted for their venomous fin spines, which are capable of producing painful, though rarely fatal, puncture wounds. The fishes have enlarged pectoral fins and elongated dorsal fin spines, and each species bears a particular pattern of bold, zebralike stripes. When disturbed, the fish spread and display their fins and, if further pressed, will present and attack with the dorsal spines. One of the best-known species is the red lionfish ( Pterois volitans ), an impressive fish sometimes kept by fish fanciers. It is striped with red, brown, and white and grows to about 30 cm (12 inches) long. The red lionfish is native to South Pacific reef ecosystems. In the early 21st century the species became established in reef ecosystems along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States,in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea. Its rapid rate of reproduction, combined with the absence of natural enemy