Synanceia
Synanceia | |
---|---|
Type specie Synanceia horrida, 1796 illustration | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
Family: | Scorpaenidae |
Subfamily: | Synanceiinae |
Tribe: | Synanceiini |
Genus: | Synanceia J. G. Schneider , 1801
|
Type species | |
Scorpaena horrida |
Synanceia is a
Taxonomy
Synanceia was first described as a genus in 1801 by the German
Species
Synanceia contains the following species:[7][4]
Image | Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Synanceia alula (Eschmeyer & Rama Rao, 1973) | Midget stonefish | northern Indian Ocean to the Solomon Islands | |
Synanceia horrida (Linnaeus, 1766) | Estuarine stonefish | India to China, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia, and is also recorded in Vanuatu | |
Synanceia nana (Eschmeyer & Rama Rao, 1973) | Red Sea stonefish | Red Sea and Persian Gulf | |
Synanceia platyrhyncha (Bleeker, 1874) | Indonesia | ||
J. G. Schneider , 1801) |
Reef stonefish | Red Sea and Indo-Pacific | |
Synanceia quinque Matsunuma, Manjaji‑Matsumoto & Motomura, 2021 | Indonesia |
Habitat and characteristics
Synanceia are primarily
Venom
The venom of Synanceia consists of a proteinaceous toxin called verrucotoxin (VTX), which modulates Ca2+ channel activity through the β-adrenoceptor-cAMP-PKA pathway. In humans, stings can cause intense pain, respiratory weakness, damage to the cardiovascular system, convulsions and paralysis; sometimes they can lead to death. The exact mechanism is not yet fully understood.[12]
Treatment of envenomation
Stonefish stings are extremely painful and potentially lethal.[13] The two most recommended treatments are the application of heat to the affected area and antivenom. Hot water (at a temperature of at least 45 °C (113 °F))[14] applied to the injured area has been found to denature stonefish venom, and causes minimal discomfort to the victim. Antivenom is used in more extreme cases. Vinegar is found on some Australian beaches as it is said to lessen the pain.[15]
Stonefish stings in Australia
The stonefish is the most venomous known fish in the world[16] and stings can cause death if not treated.[17] Most stonefish stings occur as a result of stepping on the creature which forces venom into the foot, while it is less common for the fish to sting when it is picked up.[18] Stonefish stings can occur on the beach, not just in the water, since stonefish can survive out of the water for up to 24 hours. They are not easily seen as they look similar to rocks or coral. Stonefish antivenom is the second-most administered in Australia.[19][verification needed]
Some Indigenous Australians have corroborees which involve re-enacting the death of someone who trod on the fish. The Aboriginal people of Northern Australia and the Great Barrier Reef have ways of preparing the fish for eating to avoid poisoning.[20]
After stonefish envenomation, the amount of anti-venom given depends on the number of puncture wounds from the stonefish spines.[21]
Number of incidents
There were 25 cases of the use of antivenom for stonefish reported to
Fatal incidents
Name | Age | Date | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Joseph Leathom Wassell | 53 | 7 April 1915 | Thursday Island, Australia[24][20][25] |
name not given | 58 | 6 August 2010 | Okinawa, Japan[26]
|
As food
Synanceia is edible to humans if properly prepared. The protein-based venom
Pop culture
In "Blue Lagoon (1980)," Emmeline Lestrange (played by Brooke Shields) unknowingly steps on a stonefish and is almost fatally poisoned.[27] The movie was filmed on Espiritu Santo island in Vanuatu, which is known for having stonefish which can grow up to 40 centimeters long.[28]
References
- ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Synanceiinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ISBN 1-86872-890-0.
- ^ "Puffer Fish". Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Synanceia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (10 March 2022). "Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataceidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Synanceia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Notesthe robusta - Family Scorpaenidae". O'Connor,J. Southern Cross University. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
- ^ Pocock, C.A. "Romancing the Reef: history, heritage and the hyper-real." James Cook University Ph.D. Thesis. 2003. Accessed 2009-06-14.
- S2CID 91157582.
- ^ Willingham, AJ (13 April 2018). "Stonefish are already scary, and now scientists have found they have switchblades in their heads". CNN.
- PMID 17572694.
- ^ Rebecca, Sarah. "The Most Excruciating Pain Known To Man." Scienceray. (29 Dec 2010): 1. Print. "The Most Excruciating Pain Known to Man | Scienceray". Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012..
- ISBN 978-0-646-57998-6.
- OCLC 16986801. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2009.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - ^ Stonefish Envenomation, adventure medicine Archived 28 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Marine Envenomation, Hornbeak, Kirsten B., and Paul S. Auerbach. Emergency Medicine Clinics 35.2 (2017): 321-337.
- ^ "CSL Antivenom Handbook - Stonefish Antivenom". www.toxinology.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ Stone Fish slk320 Archived 6 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b The Poisonous Stone Fish Dreaded Denizen of the North The Argus 14 March 1936
- ^ Stonefish antivenom product information Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Marine Bites and Stings Dr Mark Little Archived 21 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ annual report 2008, Queensland Poisons Information Centre
- ^ Design, UBC Web. "Dr Joseph Leathem Wassell - Monument Australia". monumentaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ Marine Bites and Stings Dr Mark Little Archived 21 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Okinawan diver dies from stonefish sting".
- ^ "Where was The Blue Lagoon filmed?". giggster.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ Aurimas (10 November 2022). "Dangerous Animals In Vanuatu". Go Look Explore. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
Further reading
- FishBase entry
- "Synanceia Bloch & Schneider 1801:194 (xxxvii, 573)". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2008.