Cowfish: The Mutant Superheroes of the Ocean

Cowfish: The Mutant Superheroes of the Ocean

Source: naturespoisons

6/8/2022

Credit: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Stan Lee, creator of the mutant superheroes X-Men, wishes he could have come up with a mutant power as awesome as the cowfish. The only similar creature I know of is The Spleen, a member of Champion City’s crime fighting team Mystery Men, with the ability to fart at will and render evil-doers unconscious. But the ability to kill? That’s cowfish territory.

The cowfish, Lactoria cornuta, is a variety of boxfish and a cousin of the paralytic, poisonous pufferfish. They make their home in tropical and subtropical coral reefs in the ocean waters from East Africa to Japan, and feed on just about anything, from algae to small fish and crustaceans. What sets the cowfish apart from other reef denizens is their ability, when threatened or stressed, to discharge poison through their skin to incapacitate and kill predators and would-be muggers.

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News Id		Source	Stamp	country
3951	Global effort to save dwindling ocean fish faces moment of truth	ajot	2021-05-03	US
3952	Angler turns cowboy, jumps in and rides giant Mola mola	petethomasoutdoors	2013-08-02	US
3953	Belarus leader beats Putin's pike with man-sized catfish	theobserver	2013-07-31	CA
3954	Marine experts: Gulf of Maine has become a cod-forsaken place, endangering all fisheries	bangordailynews	2013-07-31	US
3955	San Diego angler still fishing at 90, catches giant yellowtail	petethomasoutdoors	2013-07-25	US
3956	Fish-farm firm awarded $75,000 in defamation ruling	theglobeandmail	2013-07-22	CA
3957	Cut Off From the Ocean by a Volcanic Eruption, These Fish Had to Learn to Live in a Lake	hakaimagazine	2021-05-03	US
3958	At least 3.8 million fish killed by winter weather on Texas coast	brownwood news	2021-05-04	US
3959	Seaspiracy Producer Demands Biden Shut Down Fish Factory Farms	vegnews	2021-05-06	US
3960	Does ocean acidification alter fish behavior? Fraud allegations create a sea of doubt	sciencemag	2021-05-06	AU
3961	Combined effort to protect rarest native fish	odt	2013-07-08	NZ
3962	Record rockfish was 64 years old, not 200, tests show	spokesman	2013-07-06	US
3963	Trouts under threat as deadly pesticide devastates top fishing river	express	2013-07-05	UK
3964	In Northern Minnesota, 37-inch pike found dead with 3-pound sucker stuck in jaws	twincities	2013-07-04	CA
3965	Ancient rockfish caught in Alaska: Why nobody threw it back	latimes	2013-07-03	US
3966	Growing cold	Antarctic Sun	2013-07-05	US
3967	Fish in Louisiana lake left covered in sores and blisters after parasite attack	Daily Mail	2013-06-26	US
3968	Bubble-eyed goldfish has to swim on his own in case he bumps into others and BURSTS his eyes	dailymail	2013-06-26	UK
3969	Hydromea unveils the world’s first wireless compact underwater drone		2021-05-17	CH
3970	This underwater hut acts as a nursery to help the renewal of marine species in the Mediterranean	malaymail	2021-04-26	MC
3971	A singing fish: it glows green during courtship and looks like Boris Johnson’s hardship face	theguardian	2021-04-27	LK
3972	Stinging scorpion fish among 10 ‘uncommon species’ recently found in Florida waters	miamiherald	2021-04-28	US
3973	The scale of fish waste sent to landfill could feed a community	stuff	2021-04-30	NZ
3974	Asian carp spawn in more areas than 1st thought	CBC News	2013-06-24	CA
3975	Eklutna, Snettisham hydro projects still haven't redressed fish and wildlife damages	adn	2017-12-02	US

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