Tetraodontidae

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of the Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish have puffed up). The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the hard shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey. The majority of pufferfish species are toxic and some are among the most poisonous vertebrates in the world. In certain species, the internal organs, such as the liver, and sometimes the skin, contain tetrodotoxin, and are highly toxic to most animals when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan (as 河豚, pronounced fugu), Korea (as 복, bok, or 복어, bogeo), and China (as 河豚, hétún) when prepared by specially trained chefs who know which part is safe to eat and in what quantity. Other pufferfish species with nontoxic flesh, such as the northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, of Chesapeake Bay, are considered a delicacy elsewhere. The species Torquigener albomaculosus was described by David Attenborough as "the greatest artist of the animal kingdom" due to the males' unique habit of wooing females by creating nests in sand composed of complex geometric designs. The Tetraodontidae contain 193 species of puffers in 28 genera: Amblyrhynchotes Troschel, 1856 Arothron Müller, 1841 Auriglobus Kottelat, 1999 Canthigaster Swainson, 1839 Carinotetraodon Benl, 1957 Chelonodon Müller, 1841 Chonerhinos Bleeker, 1854 Colomesus Gill, 1884 Contusus Whitley, 1947 Dichotomyctere Duméril, 1855 Ephippion Bibron, 1855 Feroxodon Su, Hardy et Tyler, 1986 Guentheridia Gilbert et Starks, 1904 Javichthys Hardy, 1985 Leiodon Swainson, 1839 Lagocephalus Swainson, 1839 Marilyna Hardy, 1982 Omegophora Whitley, 1934 Pelagocephalus Tyler & Paxton, 1979 Polyspina Hardy, 1983 Pao Kottelat, 2013 Reicheltia Hardy, 1982 Sphoeroides Anonymous, 1798 Takifugu Abe, 1949 Tetractenos Hardy, 1983 Tetraodon Linnaeus, 1758 Torquigener Whitley, 1930 Tylerius Hardy, 1984 File:Arothron stellatus Réunion.

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Fish

A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animal that lacks limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts. The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period.

Tetrodotoxin

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discovered in these fish and found in several other animals (e.g., in blue-ringed octopuses, rough-skinned newts, and moon snails), it is actually produced by certain infecting or symbiotic bacteria like Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas, and Vibrio as well as other species found in animals.

Neurotoxin

Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insults that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue. The term can also be used to classify endogenous compounds, which, when abnormally contacted, can prove neurologically toxic. Though neurotoxins are often neurologically destructive, their ability to specifically target neural components is important in the study of nervous systems.

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