Fish and marine animals are potentially dangerous to people. Dangerous inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea Dangerous animals of the Indian Ocean

21.10.2013

The ocean and its underwater world both frighten and attract. It occupies most of the Earth's surface. And in 2008, the exact date for celebrating World Oceans Day was determined - June 8. So, let's celebrate and protect the living creatures that live there. Among the huge variety of fish, shellfish, turtles and the like, there are species that amaze with their shapes and colors. Their appearance is striking. I just want to pet them. But their beauty is deceiving. Many of them are dangerous to humans because they have poisonous weapons that are hidden behind an attractive appearance (doesn’t look like earthly life?). The result is a list like this poisonous inhabitants of the seas and oceans.

No. 10. Scorpionfish or sea ruff

They live in the Black and Japanese Seas, as well as in the warm latitudes of the World Ocean. The coloring of these fish is very interesting, and on the body and fins there are shapeless outgrowths with poisonous glands. They swim along the bottom their entire adult life. And the usual place for scorpionfish to be is algae and stones, where they are well camouflaged, thanks to their unusual coloring. Therefore, swimmers and divers may accidentally step on it. For which they can receive painful poisonous injections. Definitely one of the.

No. 9. Lionfish

Indian and Pacific Oceans. Here, among the coral reefs, you can meet lionfish or, as it is also called, zebra fish or lion fish (a very close relative of the scorpionfish). It has a very variegated color and an interesting shape of the body and fins, which is why it has such names. The body has a length from 30 cm to 40 cm. And in the fins, which resemble wings, there are poisonous needles. Poisoning with this poison causes convulsions, disruption of the heart and even gangrene at the injection site.

No. 8. Clam cones

Gastropods and cephalopods are cones. They live on coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Closer to the tropics and subtropics. Currently there are about 500 species. The shells of these mollusks have an almost regular conical shape, which is reflected in their name. And their length is from 60 mm to 200 mm. The color of cone mollusk shells is varied and they are valuable for collectors. A poisonous sting or sting may be inflicted on both sides of the shell if picked up. Acute pain immediately occurs, sensitivity of the affected area is lost, and then paralysis of the respiratory system.

No. 7. Medusa Cyanea

This is the most close-up view jellyfish, which is common in the northern seas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. An interesting fact is that, according to scientists, cyanea is found in the warm waters of Australia and New Zealand, but is much smaller in size than its northern counterparts. The length of the tentacles of the giant jellyfish is 36 m, and the diameter of the dome is about three meters (all this was in 1870). In cyanea, color is related to size and vice versa. Small jellyfish are orange and flesh-colored. Large ones are pink and purple. It causes very painful burns.

No. 6. Wart or stone fish

This fish (wart) can be found in the shallow waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, in the Red Sea. It is 20 cm long, and really looks a lot like a stone. The entire body is covered with growths, brownish-brown and green in color. On the back there are 13 poisonous spines, one might say, a pebble with poison. But the people of Australia call it a “sea vampire”, probably for a reason. This predator camouflages itself very well. It lies at the bottom, no one will think that danger lurks here. True, it does not attack a person first. But, if you just happen to touch a wart, the reaction will be immediate. The consequences can be, to put it mildly, unpleasant. Without wasting a minute, you need to see a doctor.

No. 5. Blue-ringed octopus

He is called the most beautiful octopus and the most poisonous. Habitat: coastal waters of Australia and South-East Asia. This poisonous beauty fits easily in the palm of your hand and weighs only 100 grams, with a size of 25 cm. During the day, the mollusk hides in crevices, under stones, and it is very difficult to recognize it. Octopuses have this ability to change their color. And, when it is calm, this mollusk is very easy to confuse with other, absolutely harmless relatives. And when excited, yellow, orange, red colors appear, with blue rings. Feeds on crabs. And this handsome man has a powerful poison that can paralyze 10 people. If an antidote is not administered, a person can die, and the poison acts very quickly.

No. 4. Dogfish or rocktooth

Habitat of this fish: subtropical and tropical seas. And in Russia it “trawls” from Peter the Great Bay to Sakhalin. It can also be found off the coast of Japan, China, and Korea. The dogfish belongs to the pufferfish family and lives at a depth of 100 meters. It grows up to 50 cm in length. This cute little fish is very poisonous. And this poison has a neuroparalytic effect. It is found in the skin and internal organs. There is no antidote yet, and death can occur after eating this fish. It should be noted that among residents of Southeast Asian countries, a dish of pufferfish is considered a delicacy.

No. 3. Sea urchin

The sea urchin belongs to the order of echinoderms, and this includes almost 600 species of these animals. There are poisonous hedgehogs, and not very poisonous ones. The tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans are the location of poisonous relatives. A spherical body, everything is covered with needles, the injection of which causes terrible pain. Coral reefs are inhabited by hedgehogs with spines up to 30 cm long. And off the coast of Japan you come across another hedgehog, which is called a killer. Its body is not covered with needles, but with stalks, at the end of which there are something like tweezers. As soon as you touch them, the doors with poison close.

No. 2. Spiny shark Katran

This is the most common shark Russian seas. In some countries, the katran is called a sea dog. Where can you meet this shark? Western and Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. The body shape of the katran is considered the most perfect. Length from 100 to 225 cm, weight from 8 to 25 kg. It swims very quickly, and mainly at a depth of 100 or 200 meters. A distinctive feature of the katran are the spines that are located on the dorsal fins. And these thorns pose a certain danger to humans. You can get hurt and at the same time receive a dose of poison. And finally, teeth. Like all sharks, they are sharp and constantly change throughout their lives.

No. 1. Box jellyfish (sea wasp)

These jellyfish live off the coast of Australia and Indonesia. They swim quite fast - 6 meters per minute and are predators. During the day they are near the bottom, and at night at the surface of the water. They feed mainly on fish and crustaceans. The body shape is similar to a cone or bottle, and the body is transparent. The box jellyfish is also considered a dangerous creature, as it can cause severe damage to humans. True, he never attacks. And it infects a person with its poison, completely by accident. She doesn’t have time to swim away when someone wants to dive. Every year people die from the poison of this jellyfish.

Candidate of Naval Sciences, Professor V. DYGALO.

Rear Admiral Viktor Ananyevich Dygalo is a man who was born by the sea, and then gave it most of his life. In 1944, as an eighteen-year-old boy, he took part in hostilities on ships of the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1945 - in the Victory Parade. Then there was twenty years of service on submarines, command of a division, which included the K-129 missile submarine that tragically died in March 1968 off the Hawaiian Islands. The experienced sailor traveled all the seas and oceans, called at the ports of Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa and Europe, and crossed the equator twice. He observed marine animals not only in the open ocean, but also in giant aquariums in Singapore and Suez. Knowledge underwater world and the impressions of what he saw were reflected in the article about those inhabitants of the ocean who should be feared.

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

When people talk about the dangers that the ocean poses, the first thing that comes to mind is sharks. The mere mention of them evokes fear; the image of a giant man-eating shark from the famous American film “Jaws”, filmed in the early 1970s based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, immediately appears before your eyes.

In fact, sharks, with the exception of a few species, and there are more than 250 of them in total, do not themselves attack humans. Other toothy sea giant predators behave the same way. But this is not about them.

Most dangerous marine animals are found among small, often inconspicuous or, conversely, very bright and colorful sea ​​creatures. These seemingly harmless creatures produce powerful, sometimes deadly, poisons. Scientists count about 500 species of poisonous fish, 93 species of poisonous coelenterates, 91 species of mollusks, 26 species of echinoderms. But don't give in to fear. Poisonous marine animals usually infect a person in self-defense when he disturbs them or causes them pain with a careless movement.

One of the most poisonous and also the ugliest sea animals is the stone fish. It is also called tubercle or wart. This creature is only 15-20 centimeters long, with an ugly large head, small eyes and a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw. Naked, without scales, brownish-brown, sometimes with light spots and stripes, the body of the stone fish is covered with tubercles and warts, and hard, poisonous spines protrude from the dorsal fin. Typically, warts hide among corals, under rocks, burrow into mud or sand, and can remain on the shore in puddles after low tide. It looks like a piece of stone and is inconspicuously colored, so it is almost impossible to notice it. If a person steps on a stone fish or accidentally touches it, it will immediately plunge into him the spines of its fins, at the base of which there are poisonous glands. Wart poison is extremely dangerous. There are cases where a person died several hours and even minutes after being pricked by its poisonous thorns.

The stonefish is found in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Islands and northern Australia, where residents call it the warty vampire. People who are lucky enough to survive a wart injection often remain disabled, because its poison destroys red blood cells and affects the central nervous system. Unlike the stone fish, the master of “camouflage,” the zebra fish, or lionfish, has a very noticeable appearance. Her body, 30-40 centimeters long, is painted with bright pink stripes. The main decoration of the lionfish is the long ribbons of the dorsal and pectoral fins. They resemble fans made of ostrich feathers or a lion's mane. Hence another name for lionfish - lionfish. But perhaps its most apt nickname is turkey fish. When she swims slowly, spreading her pectoral and lacy caudal fins like a fan, she truly resembles a turkey striding importantly through a poultry yard. It is in these luxurious fins that sharp poisonous needles lurk. The injection of lionfish, like warts, causes severe pain, from which people lose consciousness or go into a state of shock.

It is believed that the zebra fish is capable of killing a person, but such cases have not been documented in any of the places where it lives (in the coastal waters of the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, as well as in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China, Japan and Australia). Approaching a lionfish is dangerous, especially from the side. Reacting to a change in the situation, she turns her dorsal fin towards the troublemaker in order to inflict a poisonous injection on him with lightning speed. Poisoning with lionfish venom is very serious: it is accompanied by convulsions, disruption of the heart, and it happens that gangrene develops at the puncture site. Fishermen have been wary of the poisonous sea dragon since ancient times. The prick of its spines, located on the dorsal fin and along the gill slits, is considered no less painful and dangerous than the prick of a zebra fish. It can cause breathing problems, seizures and even cardiac arrest. The dragon's dorsal spines range from five to seven, each of them is covered with a thin layer of skin, the tip of the spine sticks out from it like a needle. The dragonet is found off the coast of Norway and British Isles and further south to the Mediterranean Sea and the coast of North Africa. Stingrays, known as the sea cat, also sting their prey with poisonous spines. According to statistics, about 1,500 people suffer from their injections every year in the United States alone. This does not happen because stingrays are particularly aggressive, they simply chose to live in coastal waters over a vast area - from the countries of Northern Europe and North America to the middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere, and there are almost always a lot of swimmers and fishermen.

The weapon of a sea cat is one or several sharp spines located at the end of a whip-like tail. Even the small half-meter stingray that lives in coastal waters Atlantic Ocean, the length of the tail spike reaches 20 centimeters, and 3-4-meter stingrays have a 30-centimeter spike on the tail as thick as a human leg. The stingray is capable of striking with such force that it can pierce the bottom of the boat with its tail spike.

Sea cat venom is very toxic. It enters the wound with tissue filling the grooves of the spines and immediately affects the cardiovascular system (causing a drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate), poisoning is accompanied by vomiting and intense sweating. Residents of the Pacific Islands, Malays, Australian aborigines and Indians of South and Central America have long made arrowheads from stingray needles. According to ancient Greek mythology, Odysseus was killed with just such an arrow. In West Africa and Ceylon, whips were made from the spiny tails of small stingrays, which were used to punish criminals, and in the Seychelles, such whips were kept to intimidate wives. Among sea ​​urchins, belonging to the order Echinodermata, which includes about 600 species of marine animals, some are completely harmless, others are best avoided. Poisonous urchins are distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They most often affect people off the islands of the western Pacific Ocean.

The spherical body of the sea urchin is almost completely covered with spines. Their injection causes the same pain as a hot nail pierced into the body, and if the needle penetrates deeply, the burning does not stop for several hours.

The inhabitants of coral reefs pose a great danger to humans - tropical hedgehogs Diadem family. Their body, the size of an apple, is studded with 30-centimeter needles sticking out in all directions, similar to knitting needles. They are very mobile, sensitive and react instantly to irritation. If a shadow suddenly falls on a hedgehog, it immediately points its needles towards danger and puts them together, several at a time, into a sharp, hard peak. Even gloves and wetsuits do not guarantee complete protection from the formidable peaks of the sea urchin. Injury by them causes acute pain, severe shortness of breath, and even paralysis is possible. Another poisonous sea urchin, Toxopneustes, is found off the coast of Japan. Local fishermen call this hedgehog a killer because its injections can be fatal. Toxopneustes is somewhat larger than Diadem. Its body is devoid of needles, but is covered with many so-called pedicillaria - flexible stalks that end in something like tweezers made of two or three calcareous valves. When the hedgehog is calm, its “tweezers” with open flaps slowly sway in the water. But as soon as an unwary animal touches them, the poisonous traps are triggered: the flaps close, and the poison is injected into the body of the captured victim. Toxopneustes holds her down until she is completely paralyzed. If the prisoner still manages to get rid of the hedgehog, he carries away the tweezers that are tightly clinging to the body, which continue to shrink and release poison into the wound for several more hours. A swimmer affected by this poison risks drowning.

In the story “The Lion's Mane,” Arthur Conan Doyle described the mysterious murder of a young teacher: “His back was striped with dark purple welts, as if he had been lashed with a whip of thin wire. MacPherson was apparently tortured and killed with some unusually flexible instrument, because "long, sharp scars curved from the back and captured the shoulders and ribs. Blood flowed down the chin from the lower lip bitten from unbearable pain." Sherlock Holmes solved the crime. The killer turned out to be a jellyfish! These inhabitants of the sea seem no more dangerous than foam on the crest of a wave, but among them there are poisonous ones, the tentacles of which leave a severe burn on the body.

Poisonous ones include, for example, the Cyanea jellyfish, or the Lion's mane (the killer from the Conan Doyle story). The diameter of the bell-shaped body of this giant reaches 2.5 meters or more, and the poisonous tentacles collected in eight bundles (each bundle has one and a half hundred threads) are 30 meters! The elongated tentacles of Cyanea resemble an unusually beautiful crimson train, but when they pull up and wriggle, they become like balls of tangled hair or, as Conan Doyle writes, a lion's mane. These jellyfish are widespread in the northern Pacific, Atlantic and Baltic Seas. They are unlikely to kill a person, but the touch of their tentacles can cause deep skin lesions.

Compared to the huge Cyanea, the Gonionema jellyfish is very small - no more than a snout. Its dome is like a bell with four red-brown folds in the form of a cross on the concave side. For this reason, Gonyonema is called the cross. It is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean: in the Sea of ​​Japan - near Vladivostok, in Olga Bay, in the Tatar Strait, near the southern tip of Sakhalin, off the coast of Japan and the Southern Kuril Islands. Large accumulations of Gonionema are sometimes observed in Peter the Great Bay. The crossfish lives in shallow water in thickets of sea grass. It attaches to plants with suckers and lies in wait for prey. A Gonionema burn feels similar to a nettle burn, but unlike it, it entails a serious illness with sharp pain in the lower back and joints, shortness of breath, a dry uncontrollable cough, nausea, severe thirst, numbness in the arms and legs. The poison of the cross often even affects the psyche, then the patient falls either into a state of extreme nervous excitement or into depression. Usually, poor health lasts 4-6 days, but pain and discomfort may recur for about a month.

Sometimes invasions of crosses take on the dimensions of a natural disaster. They appeared several times at the height of the swimming season in the waters of Primorye. Locals and vacationers on the shores of the Amur Bay remember well July 17, 1966, when a countless flock of little crosses approached the beaches. More than a thousand people suffered from them then. In the summer of 1970, in just one day there, 1,360 people received burns from the touch of a cross, of which 116 had to be hospitalized.

Box jellyfish, named for their slightly rounded cubic bell shape, are also poisonous. In the lower corners of the cube, this jellyfish has four outgrowths - the so-called arms. Each "hand" is divided into several "fingers" ending in long, thin tentacles. The most poisonous of the box jellyfish and probably the deadliest of all known sea creatures is the sea wasp. The danger of contact with these small (no more than 20 centimeters in diameter) translucent jellyfish is great, since they are difficult to notice in the water and they swim quite quickly. (The speed of movement of the sea wasp is 4 kilometers per hour.) Box jellyfish live in tropical waters. They are especially common off the coast of northern Australia and the Philippines. They prefer shallow, wind-protected coves with a sandy bottom, and in calm weather they approach the beaches. On hot days, box jellyfish descend to the depths, and in the mornings and evenings they rise to the surface. From the touch of their tiny tentacles dotted with a thousand deadly stings, a person can die in a matter of seconds. Over 25 years, about 60 people died from sea wasp burns near the state of Queensland (Australia), while only thirteen became victims of sharks.

Floating physalia pose a great danger to people. Many attribute them to jellyfish, but in fact they are a huge floating colony of mutant jellyfish and polyps, in which each performs its own, strictly defined function: some “obtain” food, others “digest” it, others “hold the line,” the fourth are “responsible” for the offspring. Connected by common life activity, they form a single organism.

Physalia stay afloat with the help of a pneumatophore - a swim bladder filled with gas. This gas, consisting mainly of nitrogen (about 90%) with a small admixture of oxygen and argon, is produced by glands inside the bladder. Some physalia, changing the volume of the swim bladder, can descend to different depths. A trunk extends down from the pneumatophore, to which several hundred polyps are attached, performing different functions. The tentacles of the polyps go 20-30 meters deep. Along their entire length they are dotted with stinging (venom-bearing) cells. Contracting, the tentacles slowly drag the prey to the center of the colony, where it is digested by feeding polyps.

One of the most common types of physalia is the Portuguese man-of-war. It is found in the tropical Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Similar species of physalia live off the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of southern Japan. The Portuguese man-of-war got its name from its bright, multi-colored swim bladder, reminiscent of the sail of a medieval Portuguese ship. The lower part of the bubble is blue, on top there is a bright red ridge, and the whole thing shimmers with blue, violet, purple flowers, and gently silvers. Physalia's swim bladder is only 30 centimeters in size and looks like a beautiful rubber cap. Anyone who tries to fish it out of the water may get burned. Yuri Senkevich experienced it himself during his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the papyrus boat "Ra". Seduced by the beauty of the physalia, he tried to take it in his hands. “Without thinking twice, I grabbed it,” Sienkevich later recalled, “and roared in pain, frantically began to wash my fingers with sea water, but the sticky mucus did not lag behind. An attempt to wash off the mucus with soap was also unsuccessful. My hands burned and ached, my fingers bent with difficulty. Spraying anesthetic medicine from a special spray bottle relieved the pain for a few minutes, but it immediately returned with new strength. The fingers could no longer bend, the pain began to spread to the shoulders and further to the heart area, the general state of health was disgusting. I took two tablets of analgin, validol, pyramidon and, as they say, fell into bed. I was shaking with chills. It subsided gradually. First my right hand felt better, then my left. The pain subsided only after five hours. But the malaise lasted for a long time..." Sometimes Portuguese ships fall into the Gulf Stream and are carried by this current into the English Channel. When they accumulate off the coast of England and France or, for example, near the beaches of Florida, television, radio and the press warn the population of the danger .

The giant bivalve mollusk tridacna is also called the killer clam. The weight of this sea monster reaches 250 kilograms (there are even 430-kilogram specimens), and the length of the shell is about one and a half meters. And although not a single reliable case of death has been recorded, experienced divers assure that a tridacna can clamp a person in the shell flaps, as if in a vice. So pearl divers and scuba divers stay away from it. Of the mollusks, the most dangerous are the so-called cones. They got their name from their almost regular conical shape. These poisonous fish-eating mollusks can actually kill a person. They inject with a sharp spike, which they push into a slot at the narrow end of the shell. The spike ends in a curved barb, like a harpoon. Inside the thorn there is a channel from the poisonous gland, through which very strong poison is injected into the wound. A sting from a cone mollusk causes acute pain, numbness of the affected area and other parts of the body, and then paralysis of the respiratory and cardiovascular system may occur. According to statistics, one out of three, or even two cases of being pricked by a cone thorn ends in death. True, all these cases occurred due to the fault of man: attracted by the beauty of the shell, he tried to pick it up and forced the cone to defend itself. In the Pacific Ocean, 2-3 people die every year from cone clam bites, and sharks account for only one human victim. The shells of cone mollusks are no more than 15-20 centimeters long, painted in bright colors and covered with a variety of patterns. The Gloriamaris cone, for example, called the Glory of the Seas, is considered the most beautiful shell in the world. It costs up to two thousand dollars and is highly valued by collectors. Not only on earth, but also in the ocean there are fabulous corners - these, according to many, are coral reefs. Cirrus, branched, spherical corals are a feast of colors. Among them there are bright green “shrubs” and thickets of orange-yellow “trees,” pink, gray, lilac “grass,” yellowish-ocher “mushrooms” with inverted caps and brown “cauliflower” with a blue tinge.

For a long time, corals were considered plants. Only in the 19th century were they finally classified as part of the animal world. By the way, the corals that are exhibited in museums, used in jewelry and for interior decoration, do not look like animals at all - it is just their calcareous skeleton. The basis of coral is made up of polyps - marine invertebrate animals measuring 1-1.5 millimeters or a little more (depending on the species).

As soon as it is born, the baby polyp begins to build a cell house in which it spends its entire life. Micro-houses of polyps are grouped into colonies, the same “trees”, “shrubs”, “mushrooms”... When hungry, the polyp sticks out tentacles with many stinging cells from the “house”. The smallest animals that make up the plankton encounter the tentacles of the polyp, which paralyzes the victim and sends it into the mouth. Despite their microscopic size, the stinging cells of polyps have a very complex structure. Inside the cell there is a capsule filled with poison. The outer end of the capsule is concave and looks like a thin spirally twisted tube called a stinging filament. This tube, covered with tiny spines directed backwards, resembles a miniature harpoon. When touched, the stinging thread straightens, the “harpoon” pierces the victim’s body, and the poison passing through it paralyzes the prey.

Poisoned coral harpoons can also injure humans. Dangerous ones include, for example, fire coral. Its colonies in the form of “trees” made of thin plates have chosen the shallow waters of tropical seas.

The most dangerous stinging corals from the genus Millepora are so beautiful that scuba divers cannot resist the temptation to break off a piece as a souvenir. This can be done without burns and cuts only with canvas or leather gloves and shoes with rubber soles or fins that completely cover the foot. Such precautions will protect not only from burns, but also from cuts. And although wounds received in contact with corals are usually shallow, they take a long time to heal and can even turn into trophic ulcers.

Since ancient times, one of the occupational diseases of divers has been considered “sponge catcher’s disease,” when a burning purple rash and ulcers appear on the body of an underwater swimmer. For a long time it was believed that the culprit of this disease was a sea sponge. But at the beginning of this century, scientists discovered that touching not the sponges themselves, but the burning tentacles of the anemones sitting on them, another representative of coral polyps, is dangerous. Sea anemones are large animals up to one meter high with soft tubular bodies lacking a calcareous skeleton. They do not live in colonies, but alone, and are able to travel a short distance in search of shelter. Having chosen a place, sea anemones attach to shells, stones, and dead corals using a “sole” located at the lower end of the tubular body. In the upper part of the body, the sea anemone has a mouth surrounded by numerous tentacles collected in a corolla. These tentacles are surprisingly similar to chrysanthemums, dahlias or asters and are distinguished by the same variety - there are purple, brown, snow-white, green, and pale blue anemones. The pink anemone, which likes to perch on its sponges, despite its beauty, is the most dangerous. It is found off the coast of Iceland, Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Its no less poisonous relatives adamsia and anemone are even more widespread: adamsia - from Norway to Spain, and anemone - in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, from Norway and Scotland to the Canary Islands.

Human contacts with the inhabitants of the sea are becoming closer. The underwater world attracts you amazing beauty and variety. But in order for a meeting with him to be safe, you need to know sea animals, especially those that are classified as poisonous.

LITERATURE

Dozier Thomas. Dangerous sea creatures. - M.: Mir, 1985.

Zhogolev D., Keller A. Dangerous animals of the sea and some land areas. M.: Voenizdat, 1984.

Ocean. Collection of the joint venture "Interprint". - M.: 1990.

Richiuti Edward R. Dangerous inhabitants of the sea (translated from English). - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979.

Halstead B. Dangerous marine animals. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979.

Many marine inhabitants are mistakenly considered deadly to human health and life. But who, in fact, is the real threat? In most cases, people suffer from sea creatures due to their carelessness and excessive curiosity. It's time to find out who you should stay away from.

And so: the 8 most dangerous sea creatures for humans.

Portuguese Man of War or Physalia- this is a colony of modified polyps and jellyfish, which, being closely and mutually connected, have all the features of a single organism. They are usually found near the coast, but in the warmer months of the year they also readily drift towards the earth's poles. The Portuguese Man of War is very dangerous - its poison acts quickly and reliably.

Box jellyfish or Australian sea wasp has long been famous as one of the most deadly marine animals that lives off the coast of Australia. Having a large number of poisonous tentacles, it is a deadly weapon for all living beings. If a person falls into a group of sea wasps, then he has practically no chance of getting to the shore alive.

Blue-ringed octopuses- one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the underwater kingdom. Usually a person can disturb the blue-ringed octopus only by accident, but it will not forgive such clumsy behavior and will calmly reward the offender with a fatal bite.

Big White shark, living in cold coastal waters, it is less dangerous to humans than other poisonous creatures of the seas. But still they remain rare cases white shark attacks on people, especially fishing boats.

Lionfish- striped tropical fish with poisonous spines on their back. The bright color warns everyone that the fish is poisonous. Lionfish or zebra fish cause a lot of trouble for fishermen.

Great barracuda- a predator of coral reefs, up to two meters long. The barracuda has a large number of sharp teeth, which are located both inside and outside its jaw. These fish often follow divers simply out of curiosity, but attack very rarely. True, if this happens, then death is guaranteed.

Millepora- very poisonous fire corals with an attractive appearance for inquisitive individuals. Upon contact with them, a person receives a severe burn, which then develops into an ulcer. Although it is not fatal, the burn can cause severe shock and loss of consciousness.

Wart or stone fish- one of the most dangerous fish on the planet, living at the bottom of the sea in tropical latitudes. Having fairly large poisonous spines on its back, it poses a mortal threat to humans. Since the stonefish often likes to rest in shallow waters, people receive a terrible dose of poison when they accidentally step on it.

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Many people are afraid of sharks that kill people. However, these are not the only bloodthirsty inhabitants of rivers and seas. Killer fish live in some bodies of water, where everyone swims and fish carefreely, unaware of the possible threat.

Goliath tiger fish

This creature is so dangerous that the famous piranha looks like a harmless fish against its background. The length of the individual is up to 2 m, and the weight is over 30 kg. These fish gather in schools and move in the waters of the central part of the African continent. They are capable of tearing a huge victim to shreds in seconds. The killer's mouth with yellow eyes has large fangs that resemble knives. Their length is over 5 cm.

Once upon a time on the river Several people died in the Congo; the aborigines could not determine the cause of death. Everything was attributed to an evil spirit and dark forces. An extreme fishing enthusiast was able to clarify the situation. He pulled a terrible monster out of the water. From this moment on, the Goliath fish instills even greater fear in the natives and tourists.

Piraiba catfish

Novice fishermen in the waters of the Amazon may well encounter him. When such killer catfish grab the bait, it seems like something big is biting. The fisherman is trying to pull him out, not yet knowing who exactly is hanging on the hook. The most terrible moment comes when you realize that you have caught a catfish 3 m long.

A person's legs may well be sticking out of his mouth. The catfish begins to make growling sounds that instill fear. This fish is a potential cannibal. The teeth of the Paraibu catfish are very sharp and are curved towards the pharynx in order to prevent the prey from freeing itself from its powerful jaws.

Catfish bagari

The river flows between India and China. Kali, which has gained notoriety because people strangely disappear and drown in its waters. For a long time it was not possible to establish the true cause of the tragedies. Horrors about killer fish were confirmed after a terrible brown creature fell into people's hands. Its length was over 2 m, and its weight was about 140 kg. The bagaria catfish has very sharp teeth and a strong desire to feed on human flesh.

A terrible predator, grabbing its prey, pulls it down. Often the victim dies from lack of air before it is eaten. There is a version that the fish became a cannibal due to the fault of man himself. Local tribes have a custom of burning the dead and throwing the bodies into a pond.

Great barracuda

This creature resembles an organic torpedo, which has very (up to 10 cm long). Killer fish may be attracted to metallic or shiny things. The length of the representative of the ichthyofauna is about 2 m, and the weight is over 45 kg. The fish attacks unprotected animals or objects that irritate it.

Dangerous fish can also attack humans. To prevent encounters with the jaws of a predator, you should stay away from muddy bodies of water, mangrove forests and river mouths. At risk are underwater hunters. During an attack, the barracuda bites through the tendons, tears off large pieces of flesh, and kills in a matter of moments. On east coast The United States of America has recorded many tragic cases of encounters with this fish.

Common catfish

The waters of Europe seem safe at first glance. But in the rivers and lakes live slippery giants that look like demons. Bathing enthusiasts should be careful, because it weighs about 180 kg and has a length of up to 4 m. It is very aggressive, capturing prey with multi-row sharp teeth.

There is no official information about what size they can reach. According to archival data, it was established that individuals up to 6 m long and 3 tons in weight were caught. Cases have been recorded in which they have bitten divers. One of the catfish caught in Russia had a human body in its stomach.

Giant freshwater stingray

The reservoirs of the southeastern part of the Asian region hide a poisonous creature in the water column. A world-famous crocodile hunter died from a sting from a small stingray. But there are scary ones in fresh waters too. The giant stingray claims to be the largest fish living in such conditions: its length is over 5 m, and its weight is more than 0.9 tons.

These creatures are dangerous fish, because they have a 20-centimeter sting with which they strike, like scorpions. But even without it, a stingray is able to hold a person under water only due to its mass. To avoid meeting with him, be vigilant when swimming in Asian waters.

musky pike

To this day, no deaths have been recorded after encountering this creature. However, the description of this fish suggests that it has the opportunity to win a fight with a person. Many are afraid to meet it in its native element, because its length exceeds 2 m. The fish lives in lakes located in the Northern Hemisphere. Its mouth is strewn with sharp teeth, capable of tearing birds, mammals and other inhabitants of bodies of water into pieces.

Dangerous fish are capable of causing serious wounds, and an individual weighing 36 kg can drown a person. A pike attacked a thirteen-year-old girl, bit her and dragged her to the bottom. Miraculously, the victim managed to escape and escape from this monster. A fisherman from a capsized boat received multiple bites from a pike while trying to get ashore. The main habitat of the predator is coastal vegetation. The pike grabs the victim, making a powerful lunge forward from an ambush.

Electric eel

This fish is the main predator of the Amazon basin. When defending and attacking, the eel creates a very strong discharge of electricity. It is enough to render a horse unconscious. A discharge of 600 V kills a person instantly. If the current is less powerful, it will lead to loss of consciousness. In this state, a person can easily choke in water.

Dangerous fish grow up to 250 cm in length and weigh 25 kg. Without danger of getting them, they are handled only with rubber gloves. If you enter a river where eels live, you can receive a fatal blow, since water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Many cases of death from these dangerous predators have been recorded.

Mississippi girt

This ancient monster lives in rivers in the southeastern United States. Its length can be 3 m, and its weight can be 180 kg. These rare fish their appearance resembles a crocodile: a large body and a huge mouth with many fangs.

There is a known case when a shellfish grabbed a man who was sitting on the pier and dangling his legs in the water. The creature tried to pull the man to the bottom, but he managed to escape. Encounters with the shellfish that ended in death for humans are unknown. But it cannot be ruled out that people drowned because of them.

Bull shark

Other killer fish are no longer so scary once the details about this creature are known. The bull shark is different from the typical shark, posing an even greater threat to others. Its length is 2-4 m, and its weight is up to 270 kg. The fish lives in the sea, but can swim thousands of kilometers into freshwater rivers, ending up in lakes. A large number of people in the United States have suffered from the actions of these predators.

This shark is the most aggressive among its relatives, since its blood contains a record amount of testosterone. The death grip of its jaws is the strongest among all fish living in our time. Predator attacks should be avoided in fresh, muddy bodies of water.

Paku

Rare fish sometimes pose a greater threat than those that are well known. Pacu is a predator with a body length of about 90 cm and a weight of about 25 kg. The fish is distinguished by an eerie set of teeth that strongly resemble human ones. The creature uses them perfectly during attacks. The homeland of pacu is the waters of the Amazon. After it became an object of sport fishing, its range expanded significantly.

In 1994, two people from New Guinea died from the bite of this fish. They were fishing in the lake when a mysterious creature bit off their genitals. Death occurred from severe blood loss. These killer fish are one of the most terrible creatures among the ichthyofauna.

Sawtooth ray

Sawfish can destroy an unwary person by turning him into minced meat. The appearance of the fish is noteworthy, the description of which is as follows: length up to 7 m and the presence of a saw on the snout measuring up to 2.5 m. This device is equipped with many cutting elements. Available data indicate that the predator does not specifically hunt humans, but cases of attack are not excluded.

The saw-tailed ray has very poor eyesight and a strong instinct to protect its territory. His attitude towards random guests and prey is the same - the desire to tear it into pieces with the help of his saw. The situation is complicated by the fact that the fish does not reveal itself until the very last moment, after which it is too late to escape. Anthropogenic impact has led to the fact that fish are on the verge of extinction.

Mackerel hydrolic

These fish have such a terrible appearance that it seems that they came from another planet or from the other world. The length of the animals is up to 1.2 m, and their weight is about 14 kg. It has fangs with a record length - up to 16 cm. With their help, fatal wounds are inflicted on the victim. The fish has incredible sense, biting in such a way as to damage vital arteries.

A person swimming in the Amazon could theoretically suffer a heart or lung injury that could be fatal. The mackerel-shaped fish is an object of sport fishing.

Piranha

There is another dangerous inhabitant of water bodies - piranha. Killer fish have a flat body, weight up to 1 kg and length up to 50 cm. The lower jaw of the creature is slightly pushed forward. The teeth have the shape of a triangle, their arrangement is such that when the jaws close, the upper ones enter the spaces of the lower ones. This allows you to tear off a piece of flesh from the victim with one jerk and immediately rush after the next one.

Capable of absorbing a 50-kilogram animal in a matter of minutes. The inhabitants of muddy rivers have highly developed hearing and sense of smell. They are able to sense blood diluted 1.5 million times. At a distance of hundreds of meters they can hear the sounds made by wounded animals.

Surgeon fish

Over 100 species of these fish are known to live in coral reefs around the globe. Among them there are very beautiful representatives. But divers are better off not approaching these beauties, which are about 60 cm long. Their tails hide a natural scalpel. It comes out instantly, as if under the action of a spring.

They use a knife to defend themselves from intruders on their territory. A person who approaches them risks being seriously injured with dire consequences. You can die both from severe blood loss and from reef sharks, which will not keep you waiting long.

Brown snakehead

Representatives of this species came under close public attention when rumors spread about their appearance in temperate waters. Large representatives have a weight of 22 kg and a height of 120 cm. One of the most ardent predators is capable of defeating almost any medium-sized animal that it encounters. His teeth are sharp like daggers and his body is muscular. These creatures inflicted severe injuries on rice field workers who found themselves in the territory controlled by the predator.

The aggressiveness of fish increases many times during the period when they protect the young. During wild attacks, people suffered from bites and head blows. In some cases this led to drowning. Fishermen who catch a representative of the species are at great risk. In defense, they bit people and pierced them with fishing rods during attacks. Several children died from the actions of these predators.

Greenland shark

Swimming in the waters of the Arctic zone is by no means safer than in the tropics. can grow up to 6 m. Large mammals were found in its stomach. There are legends that human remains were found inside the shark. This polar predator strikes fear into the Eskimos, who have long been familiar with the predator.

A wide variety of animals live in the ocean. According to the calculations of special expeditions, today about 85 thousand different organisms live in the ocean. And many of them pose a huge danger to humans. Let's get acquainted with the most dangerous of them.

Zebra fish. Lionfish

This fish is found in the Red Sea and mainly in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It can be found off the coast of China, Japan or Australia. Her body is 30-40 centimeters long. It has light pink stripes on its body.

The decoration of this fish is considered to be long ribbons of fins. These very fins contain poisonous needles. When injected with this needle, the person immediately loses consciousness and is in deep shock. There is an opinion that this fish is capable of killing a person, but not a single case has been recorded.

When poison enters the human body, convulsions begin, disruption of the heart, and there is a danger of developing gangrene. The poisoning process and the time after it are considered very difficult.

Cone. cone snail

This mollusk lives mainly in warm waters. It has a special poisonous gland, which consists of toxic substances. When you touch it, a thorn pricks you, and the person loses consciousness from acute pain. This makes breathing and the work of the heart muscle difficult.

Of the three stings from the thorn of this mollusk, one is considered fatal. But this mollusk also brings benefits to humans; medicines are produced based on its poison.

This jellyfish is considered the largest in the world. Lives in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its diameter is about 75 centimeters. There are tentacles in her body, upon contact with which, poison enters the victim’s body.

This poison is capable of killing small animals, but also causes significant damage and painful shock to larger animals.

Scorpionfish, or Sea Ruff

This fish lives in Atlantic Ocean. It spends most of its life in various thickets, and during the hunt, it lies hidden at the bottom. When prey approaches, the sea urchin suddenly attacks the victim and swallows it along with the water.

The bites of this fish are very painful for humans. Severe pain occurs and infection enters the body.

It can be found off the coast of northern Australia and Indonesia. Her entire body is covered with special cells, thanks to which she causes severe burns upon contact with them. The burns cause severe pain, and their force can kill up to 60 people in three minutes. Due to frequent deaths, it is considered the most dangerous jellyfish in the world.

Puffer fish, puffer fish, ball fish, dog fish

Yes, this fish has many names and is considered very poisonous. When danger arises, it has the characteristic feature of increasing three times. This fish received its nicknames because of the special structure of its body, namely its teeth.

While searching for food, it splits the shells of shrimp and crabs and feeds on them. Her gland contains a lethal dose of poison. This fish is eaten, but the liver and caviar cannot be eaten. Despite the highly qualified chefs, up to 100 deaths occur per year from poisoning with this delicacy. Why a delicacy? Because one serving of this fish in a restaurant costs about $1,000.

Wart. Stone fish

This is the most dangerous of all known poisonous fish. Its length is about 40 centimeters. It lives near the coast and is very similar to an ordinary stone. Produces poison and injects it into the victim. Upon contact with it, a person immediately loses consciousness, as his nerve endings are affected. If the poison enters the blood vessels, a person’s death occurs within three minutes.

Blue-ringed octopus

This octopus is small in size and lives in the Pacific Ocean. It has very modest dimensions, its weight is only 100 grams. When he senses danger, he becomes covered with spots that have a bluish tint.

It has a deadly poison in its gland - a neurotoxin. It affects the nervous and muscular systems, and causes inevitable paralysis. On this moment The only way to save a person from a bite is to immediately perform artificial respiration.

There are about 900 species of sea urchins in the world, which have a variety of spines in their bodies that aid in movement and aid in defense. They live in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Their needles are poisonous. When such a needle enters the human body, severe inflammation occurs. No deaths were recorded.