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.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
4576	Hatchery Fish May Hurt Efforts To Sustain Wild Salmon Runs; 'The Data Are Now Pretty Clear'	Underwatertimes	2009-07-10	US
4577	‘Big day for UK seas’ as bottom trawling ban in four protected areas proposed	the guardian	2021-02-02	UK
4578	Musquash River may again be home to hydro power	CBC News	2015-09-04	CA
4579	USGS, ERDC Scientists installing experimental underwater acoustic deterrent system to stop spread of invasive Asian carp	wqad	2021-02-04	US
4580	The 495 species that got away for Sussex angler	theargus	2009-05-11	UK
4581	Brisbane Scientist Discovers New Species Of Fish; 'A Most Exciting Discovery'	Underwatertimes	2009-04-29	AU
4582	CIBA achieves breakthrough in captive breeding of grey mullet fish	the hindu	2021-01-29	IN
4583	Call to modernise, not expand, Scottish fishing fleet	bbc	2021-01-29	UK
4584	Metre-long sturgeon discovered in Brierfield garden centre spring clean		2009-04-16	UK
4585	The bizarre South American armoured fish found in a Leicestershire canal	Daily Mail	2009-03-29	US
4586	Pharmaceuticals Discovered In Fish In Five Major US Cities; 'Highest Concentrations In Fish Livers'	Underwatertimes	2009-03-25	US
4587	Blind Fish's Sensors May Spur Development Of New Generation Of Active Sonar	Underwatertimes	2009-03-24	US
4588	Snakehead fish now in Alabama? Sounds like it's a possibility	AL	2009-03-23	US
4589	Rare 'funny-looking' lumpsucker fish found in Cornwall	Cornwall News	2021-02-05	UK
4590	A Single Altered Gene Can Make Fish Fins More Like Limbs	smithsonianmag	2021-02-04	US
4591	Human-generated Sounds May Kill Fish	Underwatertimes	2009-03-12	US
4592	Vampire fish found in stream in northern Burma	Mirror.co.uk	2009-03-11	UK
4593	Invasive species are greatest threat to Northwest salmon, report says	The Oregonian	2009-03-05	US
4594	Lake Michigan Fish Populations Threatened By Thriving Junk Food Mussel, Decline Of Nutritious Tiny Shrimp	Underwatertimes	2009-02-19	US
4595	Two-headed fish probe finds no pesticide in water	abc	2009-02-18	US
4596	Historical Photographs Expose Decline In Florida's 'Trophy' Fish; 'Large Fish More Abundant In The Past'	Underwatertimes	2009-02-17	US
4597	Anglers keen to catch 'Phar Lap'	dailyexaminer	2009-02-18	AU
4598	Couple shaken after snowmobile crashes into fish house on Lake Minnetonka	fox news	2021-02-01	US
4599	Fast-growing fish farming can help the environment, researcher says	CBC News	2009-01-02	US
4600	Zoo 'first' to breed dragon fish	bbc	2009-01-14	UK

183 of [218 - pages.]