Today we are going to talk about Spider fish. This is the common name that it has and it belongs to the Trachinidae family. Its scientific name is Trachinus drake and like him Lion fish, stone fish y Scorpion fish It is poisonous. It is well known for causing accidents to people on beaches that are shallower.
In this post we will talk about the characteristics and way of life of the spider fish. We will also discuss how we should treat a bite from this poisonous fish. Do you want to know this fish thoroughly?
Key features
This fish is characterized mainly by its behavior with its prey. What he does to surprise them is hide under the sand and go unnoticed. This makes it very difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
It is generally a fairly sedentary fish and lives in remote waters up to 50 meters deep. You can find specimens with sizes that They range from 15 to 45 centimeters in length. Depending on the variety and age, the size can vary.
Regarding its appearance, it has a fairly elongated body with a compressed shape. Its mouth is large as is the head. He has it tilted up a bit so he can keep an eye on his prey while hiding in the sand. As in all species in the world, morphologies develop to better adapt to their environment. This turn of the head allows you to see under the sand.
Its first dorsal fin is quite short and is where its 7 poisonous spines are found. As if this were not enough, has another 32 spines on the second dorsal fin rich in poison that it injects after introducing the thorns into the skin. Thanks to these thorns it can protect itself from its natural predators. They are more likely to be attacked while swimming, since otherwise they hide in the sand.
Color, food and habitat
Its color is green with dark spots on the head and some yellow and blue lines on the sides. This fish has a cryptic coloration. It is a coloration that all animals that have the ability to camouflage themselves have. The game of shades of green, dark spots, yellow and blue makes them go unnoticed in the middle of the sea. This gives you a huge advantage over your enemies.
Now let's talk about their diet. The main diet of spider fish is the smallest fish found on the seabed. He also eats some crustaceans. To hunt its prey, it buries itself in the sand, exposing only its eyes. It is able to visualize its prey with great precision thanks to its tilted head. It has great patience to wait for the right moment when it attacks another animal.
Its area of distribution extends from the waters of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The habitat is in those areas where sand and mud bottoms abound. They are not found in other types of funds, since they could not hide to hunt. It is more common to find it near the seabed at a depth of 50 meters. However, in the summer times they can be seen frequently on shallow beaches and near the coasts. This causes some problems with bathers.
Because the sand on the beach simulates the depths in which it habitually hunts, they burrow under the sand to wait for their prey. When a person is swimming or walking close to shore on shallow beaches, they are attacked by these fish. The sting is quite poisonous as we will see later.
Reproduction and dangers of spider fish
Because it is very territorial, in the mating season it becomes much more aggressive. Numerous unprovoked attacks on swimmers and divers have been reported. This is because they think they are going to invade the territory where they spawn or mating takes place.
The months in which it spawns are from June to August. Therefore, it coincides with the time when there are more bathers and divers.
Although this fish is from the open sea and is more typical of warm waters, climate change is affecting them. Global warming is increasing the average temperature of marine waters. Because of this, this species is being displaced to the coasts. There are more and more reports of attacks and poisonous spiderfish bites in bathers.
Usually the bite occurs when bathers step on it without seeing it. You have to think that the spider fish may be buried underneath and without realizing it, we step on it. Most of the injuries occur in unsuspecting bathers or fishermen who dare to handle the spiderfish out of the water. These fishermen do not know that even if the spider fish is dead, it is still toxic for a time.
What does the poison do?
The poison of this fish It has a glycoprotein and vasoconductive origin. As there is currently no antidote, it is highly advisable to receive immediate medical attention. Otherwise it could complicate the action of the symptoms and lead to potentially serious consequences. Among them is gangrene, a product of lack of circulation.
Among the damages that it can cause we find pain in the area of the bite, fever, vomiting, respiratory failure, seizures in some cases and skin reactions such as inflammation and redness.
When we have been bitten by a spider fish, the main thing we have to do is:
- Clean and disinfect the wound.
- Manually remove the thorns that are in sight.
- Apply heat to the affected area, by immersing it in hot water at a temperature lower than 45 ° C for 30 minutes, to reduce pain.
- Avoid placing cold on the wound, although some defend this method to locate the location of the venom by vasoconstriction.
- Avoid the application of tourniquets and the practice of suction to avoid the spread of the poison.
- Go to an emergency center for medical attention.
I hope that with these tips you can avoid being bitten by a spider fish and treat it as soon as possible.