If you like
Japanese food, be careful when you try fugu. Some organs of this fish are very
poisonous. The chef, who wants to prepare the fugu, must go through a
three-year training to recieve a special license.
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| Tetraodon from BHL |
Blowfish are a medium-sized
fish (up to 60 cm) with a beak-like mouth. They have a rounded body without
scales, or with tiny spikes, and no ventral fin. The Japanese name
"Fugu" translates into "river pig". Blowfish can suck water
into a special stomach chamber and expand their body, similarly to a
porcupinefish. The blowfish is the first fish whose genome has been completely
read.
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| Photo of Arothron nigropunctatus by Dennis Polack from EOL |
The blowfish is
considered a delicacy in Japan, although it is deadly dangerous. The tissues of
this fish (especially reproductive organs, liver, intestines and skin) of some
blowfish contain the poison of tetrodotoxin. First signs of poisoning appear in
30 minutes after ingestion. Numbness of the tongue, lips and fingertips come
first. Next are headaches, fatigue, lassitude, speech impediment and difficulty
to breathe. Gradual paralysis of breathing muscles follows, with a coma and
death within 24 hours after eating a blowfish.
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| Results for Arothron on Europeana |
You can find more about blowfish on BLE Poisonous Nature. Stay tuned!
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