112 DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS 



Moray Eel, Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl) (Fig. 68, Next to Bot- 

 tom). Polynesia to East Africa. 



Moray Eel, Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacepede) (Fig. 68, Bot- 

 tom). Hawaiian Islands to the Red Sea and East Africa. 



Medical Aspects. The initial symptoms consist of tingling and 

 numbness about the lips, tongue, hands, and feet, with a feeling of 

 heaviness in the legs. This may be followed by nausea, vomiting, 

 diarrhea, abdominal pain, joint aches, metallic taste, difficulty in 

 swallowing, foaming at the mouth, intense sweating, muscular in- 

 coordination, lockjaw, violent convulsions and difficulty in breath- 

 ing, due to muscular paralysis. About 10 per cent of the victims 

 suffering from moray eel poisoning die. The recovery period in the 

 mild cases extends over a long period of time. 



Treatment. See Page 126 for the treatment of fish poisoning. 



Prevention. Do not eat tropical moray eels. Even some of the so- 

 called "safe" species may at times be violently poisonous. 



POISONOUS SCOMBROID FISHES 



Tuna, Bonito, Mackerel, Skipjack, etc. 



This heading is somewhat misleading in that all of the fishes 

 listed are, under most circumstances, edible. In this particular in- 

 stance, the poisoning is due directly to inadequate preservation of 

 the fish. This category of fishes is included, however, because of the 

 danger that may come from eating stale scombroid fishes — 

 particularly in tropical areas. 



Fishes normally contain a chemical constituent in their flesh, 

 called histidine. When histidine is acted upon by bacteria, this 

 substance apparently changes into a histamine-like substance called 

 saurine, which can cause illness in humans that resembles a severe 

 allergy. This histamine-like substance is produced when scombroid 

 fishes are left to stand at room temperature, or out in the sun for 

 several hours. For some unknown reason, scombroid fishes seem 

 to be more susceptible to becoming toxic by this means than most 

 other types of fishes. 



A list of the species will not be given, since any of the tuna, skip- 

 jack, bonito, mackerel, sierra, Spanish mackerel, etc. (Fig. 79, 

 Next to Top) may be involved. Representatives of these fishes 

 are world-wide in their distribution. 



Medical Aspects. The symptoms of acute scombroid poisoning 

 resemble those of a severe allergy. Frequently, poisonous scorn- 



