Fish-hedgehog - a dangerous treat

Fish-hedgehog is known to people for a long time. This prickly inhabitant of the tropics and southern regions of temperate latitudes has always attracted the attention of Europeans. No, not their gastronomic benefits, because the fish-hedgehog is extremely poisonous. It attracted attention by an unusual kind and ability in case of danger to swell and spread the needles, which are pressed to the body in a calm state.

The family of fish urchins consists of eight species. The largest representatives reach a length of sixty centimeters. The fish-hedgehog has a special air bag. When she does not experience stress, he is in a calm, deflated state. When the hedgehog is forced to defend itself, it fills the bag with water and swells, acquiring the shape of a ball and increasing in size several times. Pressed to the sides of the needle stand on end and stick out in all directions, preventing any attempt by the predator to swallow it. In some species, the length of the needles reaches twenty centimeters. Because of these features, the fish-hedgehog has two more "unofficial" names: a sea porcupine and a fish-ball.

But this is not enough, the fish-hedgehog has another way to scare away the newcomers, showing to it a culinary interest: it releases poisonous mucus, which very well drives away the aggressors. The latter circumstance greatly complicates the maintenance of fish-hedgehogs in aquariums or basins. At the slightest sign of attack from other inhabitants of the aquarium, the fish releases mucus, after which it is necessary to change all the water. In connection with this, the fish-hedgehog in captivity is usually kept in a separate tank. Prefers sandy soil, often burrows into the sand completely. He leads a mostly nocturnal lifestyle, hiding in secluded places during the day.

In natural conditions, the fish-hedgehog feed mainly on mollusks and crustaceans. Solid dental plates allow you to crack even the most dense shell. Eats small fish. In captivity, the fish-hedgehog can do without shellfish.

If European and American gourmets rejected the fish-hedgehog, then severe Japanese samurai considered that it is quite suitable for food to real warriors. Of some types of pufferfish, the famous Japanese delicacy - fugue is prepared. For the sake of justice, it should be clarified that the fugue is cooked from representatives of several kinds of pufferfish, and the main place here is given to the brown skaloozub. But fish-hedgehog refers to the types of fish from which this delicacy is prepared.

The internal organs of the fish contain the deadly poison tetrodoksin. He is ten times stronger than curare, four hundred times stronger than strychnine. A lethal dose can be obtained by simply touching the interior of the fish with a bare hand. Tetrodoxin has a nerve agent. Upon ingestion, it causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, the person dies of suffocation. Antidote against tetrodoksin has not yet been established.

The distribution area of fish-hedgehogs is the warm tropical region surrounding the Earth. Especially a lot of them in the Red Sea. She and other fish of the Red Sea (for example, her close relative - sea cucumber) are the calling card of this pond. All of them are interesting in their own way.

But in other regions of the Earth, where the tropical climate dominates, the fish-hedgehog is widespread. Photos of these interesting creatures do not cease to amaze fans of exoticism: how inventive the nature in the matter of adaptation to the environment and protection from predators!