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Takifugu in a tank. The fugu (河豚; 鰒; フグ) in Japanese, bogeo (복어; -魚) or bok (복) in Korean, and hétún (河豚; 河魨) in Standard Modern Chinese [a] is a pufferfish, normally of the genus Takifugu, Lagocephalus, or Sphoeroides, or a porcupinefish of the genus Diodon, or a dish prepared from these fish.
The northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, is a species in the family Tetraodontidae, or pufferfishes, found along the Atlantic coast of North America. [2] Unlike many other pufferfish species, the flesh of the northern puffer is not poisonous, although its viscera can contain poison, [1] [2] and high concentrations of toxins have been observed in the skin of Floridian populations.
Species of puffer fish (the family Tetraodontidae) are the most poisonous in the world, and the second most poisonous vertebrate after the golden dart frog.The active substance, tetrodotoxin, found in the internal organs and sometimes also the skin, paralyzes the diaphragm muscles of human victims, who can die from suffocation.
A puffer's neurotoxin is not necessarily as toxic to other animals as it is to humans, and puffers are eaten routinely by some species of fish, such as lizardfish [15] and sharks. [ 16 ] Puffers are able to move their eyes independently, and many species can change the color or intensity of their patterns in response to environmental changes.
Porcupinefish are eaten as food fish and are an exotic delicacy in Cebu, Philippines, where they are called tagotongan. However, pufferfish can be dangerous to consume since they can cause tetrodotoxin poisoning.
Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discovered in these fish, it is found in several other animals (e.g., in blue-ringed octopuses, rough-skinned newts, and moon snails).
The pufferfish does not create the poison itself; rather it is generated by bacteria e.g. Pseudomonas within the fish. [12] The fish obtains the bacteria by eating food containing these bacteria. Pufferfish that are born and grown in captivity do not produce tetrodotoxin until they receive some of the poison-producing bacteria, often by eating ...
The grass puffer is often caught off beaches, docks, and piers using various baits such as worms, shrimp, sea lice, or cut fish. They are popular for children to catch and even popular as pets, but their intestines contain the extremely potent pufferfish poison tetrodotoxin which is potentially lethal to humans.