Dangerous Critters To Avoid?

[DevonDiver]

Ditto that with the Crown of Thorns. Those thorns don't look sharp, but they are truly needle edged. I had one go straight through the finger of a nylon reinforced 3mm neoprene glove...and stuck deep into my finger.

My hand went a little numb...and I sat out the rest of the day's diving as a precaution.... but luckily I did not have a severe reaction to the wound. Some people react very badly I am told.

 

[Pacifica Dive]

There is a specific book out:
MEDICAL GUIDE TO HAZARDOUS MARINE LIFE

We have stock in our Cebu shop.

 

[CODMAN]

I knew they were venemous, but never heard they were potentially lethal... Then again, black widow spiders are lethal... to babies if they get bitten 10 times... Everything needs to be taken in context and I wonder really how lethal it is... It's sometimes hard to get objective info on these details.

I mean, things like sea snakes are clearly deadly... You have good chances of dying within minutes from a good bite... But fore the catfish I wonder...

If you have any more detailed info on this I'd love to read through it... I guess you could say it spiked my curiosity!

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.