Stone Fish
This unimpressive looking fish is, in fact, one of the deadliest fishes in the world because of the extremely potent poison it has stored in its spines. This fish has 13 spines on its back (dorsal spines) which project outwards when the fish is hiding in the seabed. This poses an extreme danger to scuba divers as they may accidentally step on the fish and as a result poisoned by it. The sting is very painful but death can be avoided if the poison is properly treated. It may cause symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting, and paralysis. The fish is very good at camouflaging which makes it especially difficult to spot.
Similar to other marine creatures, the fertilization of the stone fish happens to be in the water only. The female stonefish releases a huge number of eggs that would later be sprayed by the male’s sperm. These eggs are food for any marine creatures and only a small number of eggs survive to reach maturity. The average lifespan of stonefish is 5 to 10 years in the wild.
