Venomous Fishes of the Philippines Mini-Series

I am happy to present a mini-series of videos about the venomous fishes of the Philippines which my friend and colleague Abner Bucol and I put together. Abner has amazing knowledge of the fish fauna of the Philippines, stemming both from  his upbringing in a fishing village in Siquijor, and his education as a fish biologist. Abner really has some unique viewpoints to share about the species we discussed.

Also, check out the Diver’s Alert Network’s guide to treating venomous marine life injuries.

Catfish and Friends

I was not, for a start, aware how dangerous the relatively common striped eel catfish are. And, seemingly there are two sub-species, one much more venomous than the other. Abner shares insights about the biology of these fish, and some anecdotes about his first hand (pun intended) encounters with them.

 

Stonefish

This is of course the most venomous of all fishes, the stonefish. It looks like a stone, which makes it even more dangerous. It’s so difficult to see that divers might unknowingly touch them when simply trying to push themselves off a “rock”. the consequences can be terrible, with pain which can’t even be controlled by very powerful opiates.

We also cover the related, but less dangerous lionfish, and the rabbitfish.

 

Stonefish Again

The stonefish is so spectacularly venomous that it deserved a second video. In this one I am reading a truly gruesome medical case report of a man who got stung when cleaning an aquarium with a stonefish inside. The poor guy was in agony for days. Details here: