114 



DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS 



given careful treatment so as to eliminate the danger of eating it. 

 Nevertheless, it is still the number one cause of fatal food poison- 

 ing in Japan — especially among the lower classes, who fail to take 

 the necessary precautions. At best, eating puffer is a game of Rus- 

 sian roulette. Unless you feel that you are a professional fugu 

 connoisseur, leave puffers alone — you will probably live longer. 



Although puffers are most numerous in the tropics, many species 

 do extend into temperate zones (Fig. 69). Puffers can be recog- 

 nized by their characteristic shape and large teeth. The following 

 list of species will serve to represent some of the more poisonous 

 tetraodontoid fishes. 



Fig. 69. Map showing the geographical distribution of puffers, and puffer-like 



fishes. The light striped areas in the upper portion of the map shows the range 



of the ocean sunfishes, or molas, which extend into temperate waters. Some of 



the molas are reportedly toxic at certain times. 



Representative Species of Poisonous Tetraodontoid Fishes: 



Maki-Maki, or Deadly Death Puffer, Arothron hispidus (Lin- 

 naeus) (Fig. 70, Top). Ranges from Panama throughout the 

 tropical Pacific, Japan, to South Africa and the Red Sea. 



White-Spotted Puffer, Arothron meleagris (Lacepede) (Fig. 70, 

 Next to Top). Ranges from the west coast of Central America to 

 Indonesia. 



Black-Spotted Puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch and 

 Schneider) (Fig. 70, Center). Polynesia, tropical Indo-Pacific 

 Japan, to east Africa and the Red Sea. 



Fig. 70. Top to bottom: Maki-maki, or Deadly Death Puffer, Arothron hispi- 

 dus (Linnaeus). White-spotted Puffer, Arothron meleagris (Lacepede). Black- 

 spotted Puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch and Schneider). Gulf Puffer, 

 Sphaeroides annulatus (Jenyns). Porcupinefish, Diodon hystrix Linnaeus. 



