![]() ![]() The tetrodotoxin is up to 1,200 times more poisonous than that of cyanide, and can cause deadening of the tongue and lips, dizziness, vomiting, arrhythmia, difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and if left untreated, death. Even then, accidental deaths from ingestion occur several times each year. Indeed, while wild encounters are certainly dangerous, the risk of death from a pufferfish increases when eating it in countries like Japan, where it is considered a delicacy known as fugu and can only be prepared by trained, licensed chefs. Though they’re the second most poisonous vertebrate on the planet (after the golden arrow dart frog), they’re arguably more dangerous as their neurotoxin (called tetrodotoxin) is found in the fish’s skin, muscle tissue, liver, kidneys, and gonads, all of which must be avoided when preparing the creature for human consumption. Pufferfish, also known as blowfish, are located in tropical seas around the globe. Sadly, deforestation has landed the frog on several endangered lists, but if you’re lucky enough for a rare sighting when hiking, don’t go reaching for it. Little wonder the indigenous Emberá people have laced the tips of their hunting blow darts with the frog’s toxin for centuries. But what makes the amphibian especially dangerous is that its poison glands are located beneath its skin, meaning a mere touch will cause trouble. Its poison, called batrachotoxin, is so potent that there’s enough in one frog to kill ten grown men, with only two micrograms-roughly the amount that would fit onto the head of a pin-able to kill a single individual. The most deadly, the golden poison dart, inhabits the small range of rain forests along Colombia’s Pacific coast, and grows to around two inches long (roughly the size of a paper clip). Poison darts are a large, diverse group of brightly colored frogs, of which only a handful of species are particularly dangerous to humans. ( They kill 20-40 people every year in the Philippines alone.) For those who are lucky enough to make it to the hospital and receive the antidote, survivors can sometimes experience considerable pain for weeks afterward, and are often left with nasty scars from the creature’s tentacles. While antivenoms do exist, the venom is so potent that many human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before reaching shore. Plus, those tendrils are lined with thousands of stinging cells known as nematocysts, which contain toxins that simultaneously attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. Their namesake cubic frames contain up to 15 tentacles that can grow up to 10 feet long. To see which wildlife photographers are popular right now, visit Trending Profiles: Animals.Often found floating-or very slowly moving at speeds close to five miles per hour-in Indo-Pacific waters, these transparent, nearly invisible invertebrates are considered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be the most venomous marine animal in the world. All of the individuals we observed were positioned similar, with their front limbs outstretched in front of their mouth and partially buried in loose muddy leaf litter.” – Nathan Shepardīrowse the Animals category on 500px for more awe-inspiring wildlife photos. These interesting frogs use their star-shaped fingertips as a sensory tool for prey capture. We ended up finding one other specimen at another location later in the trip but we were unable to catch that specimen. “Colombia: This Surinam Toad was found in a shallow section of a muddy creek alongside 4-5 other specimens. It involved a macro lens, a bucket, off-camera flash, mosquito bites and sandy, wet knees.” – Steve Passlow I’d be happy to share a few tips and more details if anyone is interested. This wasn’t an easy photo to take and I’m not sure of the exact details because it took a fair bit of experimenting to get a shot I was happy with. Well, much to our excitement we found one again and this time I was able to get photos for the record. I learned years later that it was in fact a type of Nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk or sea slug. It became a story that we talked about for years and my son would often say “Remember when we saw that crazy blue ‘fish’ on the beach?” The way they move it isn’t hard to believe it could be some sort of exotic fish. We saw it on a beach but had no idea what it was at the time. I’ve only ever seen one of these animals once before many years ago when my son was very small – he is now 16yo. ![]() “My son and I found this amazing little creature while catching prawns (trying to!).
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