2.JoaoPedroBarreiros_Dangerous Animals IIIBTSGRW2011

Animais Marinhos
Potencialmente
Perigosos dos Açores
João Pedro Barreiros
III Bienal de Turismo Subaquático
Graciosa, Açores, Outubro de 2011
Chironex fleckeri
Chiropsalmus quadrigatus
Hapalochlaena maculosa
*A beautiful blue-ringed octopus just
before he bit and killed the
photographer.
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Reef Stonefish
Synanceia verrucosa Bloch & Schneider, 1801
A Reef Stonefish at the Keppel Islands,
1974Queensland. View
A Reef Stonefish swimming at a depth of 10m, Mana Passage, fringing reef, Mana Island, Fiji, April 2002.
View
A dorsal fin spine of an Estuary Stonefish. Australian Museum, AMS IB.5248).
An Estuary Stonefish photographed at Thursday Island. View.
The Reef Stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. It has thirteen stout spines in the dorsal fin which can
inject a highly toxic venom. The venom causes intense pain and is believed to have killed many Pacific and Indian
Ocean islanders. No deaths have been recorded in Australia since European arrival (Underhill, 1987). An
antivenom developed in 1959 further reduces the likelihood of death. Despite this, many people suffer the agony of
a sting every year. Very hot water (not scalding) can be used to relieve the pain, but medical treatment should be
sought.
Reef Stonefish grow to 35cm in length, although 50cm 'monsters' have been reported. They are extremely well
camouflaged, looking like an encrusted rock or lump of coral. Reef Stonefish are usually brown or grey and may
have patches of yellow, orange or red. They usually live on rubble or coral bottoms, often under rocks or ledges,
but are also known to be able to bury in sand using their large pectoral fins.
The Reef Stonefish is widely distributed throughout tropical, marine waters of the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is
recorded from much of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, to far northern New South Wales.
The Reef Stonefish eats fishes and crustacea. It usually waits for prey to swim past, and then strikes with incredible
speed. High speed camera equipment is required to record the feeding of this species.
Predators of the Reef Stonefish include sharks and rays. Jeff Johnson, Fish Collection Manager at the Queensland
Museum stated, "I have seen stonefishes in gut contents of large sharks (tigers and white pointers). Also small
stonefishes are taken by Stokes Sea Snake, Astrotia stokesii. Stonefish bones have also been found in Aboriginal
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middens.".
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Inimicus didactylus
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A dorsal fin spine of an Estuary Stonefish. Australian Museum, AMS IB.5248).
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Para saber mais:
http://nature.ac.uk/browse/591.65.html
http://www.floridamarine.org/features/view_article.asp?id=2530
http://www.marine-medic.com.au/
joaopedro@uac.pt
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