Hedgehog has long been known to people. This prickly inhabitant of the tropics and southern temperate regions has always attracted the attention of Europeans. No, not by its gastronomic advantages, because the hedgehog fish is terribly poisonous. She attracted attention with her unusual appearance and ability, in case of danger, to swell and spread the needles, which are pressed to the body in a calm state.
The hedgehog family has eight species. The largest representatives reach a length of sixty centimeters. Hedgehog fish has a special air bag. When she is not stressed, he is in a calm, deflated state. When the hedgehog fish is forced to defend itself, it fills the bag with water and swells, acquiring the shape of a ball and increasing in size several times. The needles pressed to the sides stand on end and stick out in all directions, preventing any attempts by the predator to swallow it. In some species, the length of the needles reaches twenty centimeters. Because of these features, the hedgehog fish has two more “unofficial” names: sea porcupine and ball fish.
But this is not enough, the hedgehog fish has another way to scare away aliens who show a culinary interest in it: it releases poisonous mucus, which very well drives off aggressors. The latter circumstance greatly complicates the maintenance of hedgehog fish in aquariums or pools. At the slightest sign of attack from other aquarium inhabitants, the fish releases mucus, after which it is necessary to change all the water. In this regard, hedgehog fish in captivity is usually kept in a separate tank.
Prefers sandy soil, often burrows completely in sand. It leads mainly a nocturnal lifestyle, hiding in secluded places during the day.
Under natural conditions, hedgehog fish feed mainly on mollusks and crustaceans. Hard tooth plates allow you to gnaw even the densest shell. It also eats small fish. In captivity, hedgehog fish can do without shellfish.
If European and American gourmets rejected hedgehog fish, then the harsh Japanese samurai considered that it was quite suitable for food for real soldiers. The famous Japanese delicacy - puffer is prepared from some types of pufferfish. In fairness, it must be clarified that puffer is prepared from representatives of several species of pufferfish, and the main place here is given to brown puffer. But hedgehog belongs to those types of fish from which this delicacy is prepared.
The internal organs of fish contain a deadly poison tetrodoxin. He is ten times stronger than curare, four hundred times stronger than strychnine. A lethal dose can be obtained by simply touching the insides of the fish with a bare hand. Tetrodoxin has a nerve effect. When it enters the body, it causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, a person dies from suffocation. An antidote against tetrodoxin has not yet been created.
The distribution area of hedgehog fish is a warm tropical region surrounding the Earth. Especially a lot of them in the Red Sea. She and other fish of the Red Sea (for example, her close relative - a sea cucumber) are the hallmark of this reservoir. All of them are interesting in their own way.
But also in other areas of the Earth where the tropical climate dominates, hedgehog fish is widespread. Photos of these interesting creatures do not cease to amaze exotic lovers: how inventive nature is in adapting to the environment and protecting against predators!
