Spotted trunkfish
Encyclopedia
The Spotted Trunkfish is a member of the family Ostraciidae. It can be found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean
and Indian Ocean
as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean. The species gets its name from the black spots it has covered over its yellow/golden body.
The spotted trunkfish, like all trunkfish of the Genus Lactophrys, secretes a colorless ciguatera
toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so there's no immediate harm to divers. Predators however, as large as nurse sharks
, can die as a result of eating a trunkfish.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean. The species gets its name from the black spots it has covered over its yellow/golden body.
The spotted trunkfish, like all trunkfish of the Genus Lactophrys, secretes a colorless ciguatera
Ciguatera
Ciguatera is a foodborne illness caused by eating certain reef fishes whose flesh is contaminated with toxins originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus toxicus which lives in tropical and subtropical waters. These dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they are...
toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so there's no immediate harm to divers. Predators however, as large as nurse sharks
Nurse sharks
Ginglymostomatidae is a cosmopolitan family of carpet sharks, containing the three monotypic genera of nurse sharks. Common in shallow, tropical and subtropical waters, these sharks are sluggish and docile bottom-dwellers...
, can die as a result of eating a trunkfish.