Puffer Fish Poisonous Delicacy

The Puffer fish refers to about 120 species of fishes that mostly live in tropical seas, but a few may be found in fresh or brackish waters as well. The teeth of the upper and lower jaws of the puffer fish are separately fused with a vertical gap in front. Like the porcupine fish, the puffer also uses its beaklike teeth for feeding on corals or animals, which have a hard shelled body.

Puffer fish is generally found to be about 45 cm, or about 18 inches long. However, some species are larger than this normal size. Also called blowfish and globefish, they are named for their habit of scaring away its enemies by inflating themselves with water or air whenever threatened. Puffers are used extensively as food fishes, but some species are extremely poisonous, and can therefore prove to be fatal, unless prepared properly.

As far as the scientific classification of the Puffer fish is concerned these belong to the family Tetraodontidae of the order Tetraodontiformes. These are widely found near shores in shallow waters, across the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Puffers can also be found in brackish water like in estuaries. It belongs to the kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata and to the Class of Actinopterygii.

The scientific name of Puffer fish, Tetraodontidae, is in direct reference to the four sharp teeth, which are generally amalgamated into an upper and lower plate. These large and sharp teeth are used for overwhelming the hard shells of certain crustaceans and mollusks, which are their usual prey. Just like snakelike eels, flat halibuts, the puffers are also slow swimmers, but have beautifully evolved distinctive bodies best adapted to their specific habitats.

Some fishes may be dangerous to humans, but yet these may be used as food fishes after ensuring that their toxins are removed properly. The stonefish is one of the most venomous vertebrates known, with enough toxins in the sharp dorsal spines to kill an adult human. Similarly the toxin of the Puffer fish, or the fugu – as it is referred to in Japan, is deadly when eaten, without proper treatment.

In several countries the Puffer fish is regarded as one of the rarest delicacies among the sea food fishes. Generally the parts of the Puffer fish that are eaten are the liver, gonads and skin. Specially trained chefs, who are legally licensed to prepare and serve this delicacy, may prepare these fishes, so that it can be safely consumed by humans.

The skin and a few specific internal organs of the puffer fish are extremely poisonous to humans, since they contain a type of poison called tetrodotoxin. Yet their meat is held as a delicacy in Japan and Korea. If considerable amount of this poison goes into the human body then it can result in instant paralysis or even death. Pufferfish