Dangerous Critters To Avoid?
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Just saw my first mantis shrimp while diving Lady Elliot Island on the GBR. I had heard stories that they are wildly powerful and can break the glass of aquariums or the lenses or domes of underwater cameras when cornered. Whilst snooping around to find out more about them I came across this:
Sheila Patek clocks the fastest animals | Video on TED.com
Very interesting stuff
JudyG
Registered
There are many venomous critters in the sea, with a few of them being lethal. Titan Triggers may not be lethal, but they are rabid, insane fish when they are nesting. When not nesting, you can approach them quite closely to photograph them - they are a beautiful creature.
Here is a story from an Indonesia group trip report put together a couple of years ago - the diver who was bitten was my husband Dave. On the same site (on a different dive), I too was targeted by more than one of these fish, and it was scary. They swim very, very quickly when they are in attack mode, and there is not much defense you can offer up to a large charging fish like this one. I put my camera out on front of me when under attack - the big dome port seemed to deter the fish slightly.
Awoosh Indonesia
J.
Here is a story from an Indonesia group trip report put together a couple of years ago - the diver who was bitten was my husband Dave. On the same site (on a different dive), I too was targeted by more than one of these fish, and it was scary. They swim very, very quickly when they are in attack mode, and there is not much defense you can offer up to a large charging fish like this one. I put my camera out on front of me when under attack - the big dome port seemed to deter the fish slightly.
Awoosh Indonesia
J.
pughio83
Contributor
Agree with the things said, assume everything will bite or sting in the sea to be safe. I have been nailed by a titan triggerfish 3 times, one in which physically made me leave the water when snorkelling and watched me in the shallows until i had left then on re entry it came flying back - they are insane in nesting season!! When muck diving, and taking photo's, if u kneel down just fan the sand a bit, as stonefish, demon stingers etc.. are hard to see. I have friends in boracay who know people stung by scorpionfish and its not very nice at all!! Also i heard about one guy who was snorkelling and 'something' released a toxin cloud in the water and caused severe skin reactions and now his leg is completely scarred (have seen the leg) - no idea what creature did that!!!
Box jellies which i believe can be found in philippines are fairly uncommon unless you get far south. Blue ringed octopuses are deadly but unless you touch one you are unlikely to get bitten. I think also the pfeiffers flambouyant cuttlefish actually can bite and contains the same tetrodatoxin as the blue ringed octopus!!
take care with any octopus, titan tirgger, scorpionfish, lionfish (which can be aggressive if too close), demon stingers, stonefish,hydroids, fire corals, mantis shrimps, urchins, cone shells (textile!), striped catfish, some hairy sea slugs, sea snakes (though generally not aggressive), stingrays (see steve irwin), jellies, waspfish etc....
Box jellies which i believe can be found in philippines are fairly uncommon unless you get far south. Blue ringed octopuses are deadly but unless you touch one you are unlikely to get bitten. I think also the pfeiffers flambouyant cuttlefish actually can bite and contains the same tetrodatoxin as the blue ringed octopus!!
take care with any octopus, titan tirgger, scorpionfish, lionfish (which can be aggressive if too close), demon stingers, stonefish,hydroids, fire corals, mantis shrimps, urchins, cone shells (textile!), striped catfish, some hairy sea slugs, sea snakes (though generally not aggressive), stingrays (see steve irwin), jellies, waspfish etc....
vladimir
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Here's another good reference: Dangerous Marine Creatures, by Dr. Carl Edmonds.
Hammerhead
Contributor
Watch out for the flamboyant vampire pygmy seahorse. They're evil wee buggers.
DevonDiver
N/A
Here's some of the critters I encountered...
Banded Sea Krait.
Extremely venomous, but unlikely to bite unless agitated.
Striped Catfish
Highly Venomous - Do not touch
Blue-Spotted Fantail Ray
Hides under the sand. Barbedn the Tail
Lionfish (various species)
Toxin in the dorsal spines.
Indian Walkman
Highly toxic Spines. Very difficult to spot when camoflaged. Extends 'painted' wings as a warning.
Scorpionfish
Poisonous spines on the back. Well camoflaged.
Stonefish
Highly toxic venom in dorsal spines. Very hard to spot. Hides on rock or in sand.
Banded Sea Krait.
Extremely venomous, but unlikely to bite unless agitated.
Striped Catfish
Highly Venomous - Do not touch
Blue-Spotted Fantail Ray
Hides under the sand. Barbedn the Tail
Lionfish (various species)
Toxin in the dorsal spines.
Indian Walkman
Highly toxic Spines. Very difficult to spot when camoflaged. Extends 'painted' wings as a warning.
Scorpionfish
Poisonous spines on the back. Well camoflaged.
Stonefish
Highly toxic venom in dorsal spines. Very hard to spot. Hides on rock or in sand.
shugar
Contributor
@andy: dude... striped catfish? seriously??? i never knew that... and to think they're kinda nice to follow around when they're feeding en masse...
Jag
Jag
DevonDiver
N/A
Oh yes! It surprised me too!!! I see these little guys regularly here in the Philippines...and never gave them a second thought. I did some research to name them for my blog, and only then discovered that they were highly venomous...
Plotosus lineatus (Striped Cat-Fish Eel)
All species have been confirmed to be venomous except for P. fisadoha. The anterior spines of the dorsal and pectoral fins can inflict painful wounds. In P. lineatus, the highly venomous serrate spine of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins may even be fatal. The spines of the serrated dorsal fin, which can lock into an erect position, are covered in toxic mucus that can poison humans
"The oriental catfish (Plotosus lineatus) possesses one of the most potent known marine toxins, and it is potentially lethal." Pusan National University
Articles:
Oriental Catfish (Plotosus lineatus) Spine Envenomation: A case report. Jeong JW, Yeom SR, Cho SJ, Kim EK. Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan, Korea. advanced@lifesupport.pe.kr
Indian catfish (Plotosus canius, Hamilton) venom. Occurrence of lethal protein toxin (toxin-PC). Auddy B, Gomes A Department of Physiology, University College of Science and Technology, Calcutta, India PMID: 8726060 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]A lethal protein toxin (toxin-PC) from the Indian catfish (Plotosus canius, Hamilton) venom. Auddy B, Muhuri DC, Alam MI, Gomes A.Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, India.
Plotosus lineatus (Striped Cat-Fish Eel)
All species have been confirmed to be venomous except for P. fisadoha. The anterior spines of the dorsal and pectoral fins can inflict painful wounds. In P. lineatus, the highly venomous serrate spine of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins may even be fatal. The spines of the serrated dorsal fin, which can lock into an erect position, are covered in toxic mucus that can poison humans
"The oriental catfish (Plotosus lineatus) possesses one of the most potent known marine toxins, and it is potentially lethal." Pusan National University
Articles:
Oriental Catfish (Plotosus lineatus) Spine Envenomation: A case report. Jeong JW, Yeom SR, Cho SJ, Kim EK. Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan, Korea. advanced@lifesupport.pe.kr
Indian catfish (Plotosus canius, Hamilton) venom. Occurrence of lethal protein toxin (toxin-PC). Auddy B, Gomes A Department of Physiology, University College of Science and Technology, Calcutta, India PMID: 8726060 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]A lethal protein toxin (toxin-PC) from the Indian catfish (Plotosus canius, Hamilton) venom. Auddy B, Muhuri DC, Alam MI, Gomes A.Department of Physiology, University of Calcutta, India.
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All good info, Just want to add my two cents.....Having been nibbled by clown fish, chased by trigger fish, which I admit is a little scary....when they say the stinging creatures hurt they are not kidding.
I have been envenomed by both lion fish and scorpion fish and crown of thorns, The lion got me good with about nine spines in my right hand. I was okay for about twenty minutes then the pain began. I have suffered both severe second ( Hurt a lot) degree burns and moderate third degree burns, not so bad as the nerves are destroyed. But the lion fish had me in tears, rolling around in the bottom of the speed boat back to shore. My hand swollen to immobility. It took about four hours for the pain to stop, and it was indescribable, worse then the burns. The swelling went down in three days. Scorpion was not bad, somebody disturbed one and it swam into my leg and pricked me once...but I hear a good envenomation hurts more then the lion fish ( I find that hard to believe !!! )
The spikes on a crown of thorns are sharper then a razor, I was cleaning them off the reef one day, had a few on the bar, and one fell off. A spine was through my finger before I even felt it, and the tip of my right middle finger has been numb for four years....Trust me, do not touch anything unless you KNOW what it is. I was stupid enough once to put my finger in a hole behind a mantis shrimp to get it to come out to show my customers.....then the warning bells went off, those things CAN break your finger....what the heck are you doing ? Okay owning up to some stupidity here in the hope I can save others from the AGONY !
I have been envenomed by both lion fish and scorpion fish and crown of thorns, The lion got me good with about nine spines in my right hand. I was okay for about twenty minutes then the pain began. I have suffered both severe second ( Hurt a lot) degree burns and moderate third degree burns, not so bad as the nerves are destroyed. But the lion fish had me in tears, rolling around in the bottom of the speed boat back to shore. My hand swollen to immobility. It took about four hours for the pain to stop, and it was indescribable, worse then the burns. The swelling went down in three days. Scorpion was not bad, somebody disturbed one and it swam into my leg and pricked me once...but I hear a good envenomation hurts more then the lion fish ( I find that hard to believe !!! )
The spikes on a crown of thorns are sharper then a razor, I was cleaning them off the reef one day, had a few on the bar, and one fell off. A spine was through my finger before I even felt it, and the tip of my right middle finger has been numb for four years....Trust me, do not touch anything unless you KNOW what it is. I was stupid enough once to put my finger in a hole behind a mantis shrimp to get it to come out to show my customers.....then the warning bells went off, those things CAN break your finger....what the heck are you doing ? Okay owning up to some stupidity here in the hope I can save others from the AGONY !
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