LANDFALL AND ISLAND SURVIVAL 
49 
ing. Some of them have naked skin, that is, no spines or scales. 
Never eat a fish that blows itself up like a balloon. 
The different kinds of poisonous fish can be easily recog- 
nized by the illustrations herein presented. The usual names 
given to these poisonous Plectognaths are: swell fish or puffer 
fish, porcupine fish, burr fish, cowfish, trunk fish, box fish, thorn 
fish. In addition, the filefish or fool fish and the trigger fish 
may be looked upon with suspicion for they too have been cred- 
ited with poisonous flesh, but in certain regions the filefish and 
trunk fish are regularly eaten. If the natives use them, they are 
all right. Unless you know, however, leave them alone. The 
flesh of the puffers, porcupine fish, and the related species is vio- 
lently poisonous. Cooking does not destroy the poisonous alka- 
loid in these fish. Obviously these known poisonous fish should 
never be eaten, as violent sickness and even death may result. 
\ 
Fish With Venomous or Poisonous Spines 
Certain other fish should be avoided for a different reason. 
They have sharp spines on their heads and in their fins. These 
spines may cause a burning or stinging, even an agonizing pain, 
that is out of all proportion to the apparent severity of the 
wound. This is the result of venom that is injected when the 
spines penetrate the flesh. The venom varies greatly in 
quantity and in power. In the most venomous varieties it is 
as deadly as that of the most dangerous snakes. 
The worst of the venemous fish are the Scorpaenidae. They 
are generally known by the following common names : scorpion 
fish, w’arty lumpfish or stonefish, toadfish, zebra fish or tiger 
fish, and stinging fish. These are illustrated. (Fig. 18.) 
