Pufferfish(Jason) When you think of fish, you imagine harmless animals, but some fish have poison. Most poisons can kill a person in a span of time if not treated with proper care, however, people have not made a cure for the poison the pufferfish releases when eaten which makes the pufferfish one of the most dangerous fish. Pufferfish, being one of the most dangerous fish, has interesting body features, are extremely toxic if eaten, and has many species.

The pufferfish anatomy is interesting because it doesn’t contain as much body parts. The parts of a pufferfish are a small mouth, cylinder shaped body and small fins. There are three types of fins, the dorsal fin, the anal fin, and the caudal fin. The dorsal and anal fins are pectoral fins that help them keep balance and move in a certain direction. The caudal fin helps propel the fish forward. Inside the small mouth, the pufferfish has sharp teeth that can bite off flesh in a heartbeat. It’s cylinder shaped body has bags on the bottom half of its body so when it inflates, the skin is long enough to stretch into a sphere position.

Many people like to eat fugu, a delicacy. However, the chefs have to be skilled and have a license to cut the pufferfish because one wrong cut then the toxin will spread all over the meat. This toxin is called tetrodotoxin, tetrodotoxin is one of the most toxic poisons without a treatment for it. Tetrodotoxin can be found in the liver and sex organs of the animal. If you eat fugu with tetrodotoxin, you will feel symptoms after 10-45 minutes. These symptoms are nausea, vomiting, paralysis, numbness, and loss of conscious. If you don’t get proper care ASAP (as soon as possible) then the symptoms could lead to death.

There are more than 120 species of pufferfish worldwide. Most of the pufferfish live in warm waters such as The Pacific Ocean, The Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Nonetheless, about 30 species of pufferfish live in freshwater, except this fact might change because during breeding season, some species move from saltwater to freshwater and visa-versa.

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