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
2476	Neurotoxic predatory	aked-science	2022-10-20	US
2477	Thousands of salmon found dead as Canada drought dries out river	theguardian	2022-10-05	CA
2478	Worry, uncertainty felt at Little Campbell Hatchery as lack of rain holds up fish returns	surreynowleader	2022-10-17	CA
2479	Why volunteers scoop thousands of fish out of Alberta irrigation canals each year	msn	2022-10-19	CA
2480	Otters kill over 40 koi & fishes leaving Bukit Timah resident	mothership	2022-10-03	SG
2481	Loons are harassing anglers by stealing fish off their hooks	bangor daily news	2022-10-03	US
2482	Rare all-black fish caught in East Tennessee river	cbs42	2022-10-05	US
2483	Agreement heralds a new chapter in char farming	The Fish Site	2022-10-19	CA
2484	Азарт рыбалки рождает союзников	Охотники.ру	2022-10-19	RU
2485	‘River of fish’ making its way in desert is something you mustn’t miss	odishatv	2022-10-09	IN
2486	Where can the biggest bass be caught in Northeast Tennessee?	wjhl	2022-09-23	US
2487	Woman catches super rare ‘gold’ fish in her backyard pond	nypost	2022-10-07	US
2488	Snail Darter declared officially recovered, ending decades-long conservation effort	wjhl	2022-10-04	US
2489	Florida freediver catches pending world record fish with spear	usatoday	2022-10-05	US
2490	600 dinosaur-like fish to be released into the Tennessee River	newschannel9	2022-10-05	US
2491	Which fish are best to catch when it gets cold in Tennessee?	wjhl	2022-09-30	US
2492	Invasive fish could eradicate Tennessee bass species	wjhl	2022-10-04	US
2493	Scientists Track Eels to Their Ocean Breeding Grounds in World-First	sciencealert	2022-10-19	EU
2494	Yale researchers create a new amphibious turtle robot with shape-shifting limbs	interestingengineering	2022-10-16	US
2495	B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam	globalnews	2022-10-13	CA
2496	Sambro, N.S., fisher, fish buyer, violated law during unmonitored halibut offloads, judge rules	CBC News	2022-10-13	CA
2497	America's largest trout producer gains ASC certification	The Fish Site	2022-10-13	US
2498	Пришла осень, вода остывает, у рыбы закончилось кормовое изобилие	Охотники.ру	2022-10-06	RU
2499	Low water levels along French river help to reveal medieval fishery	medievalists	2022-10-06	FR
2500	Competitive fishing has a cheating problem, and these Canadian anglers say they've seen it happen	CBC News	2022-10-06	CA