Marine Creature of the Month April '20

Marine Creature of the Month

Famous Fish: Sykes

Picture from Pinterest

Puffer Fish 

You have spoken! Thank you all for voting, your winner is Sykes from A Sharks Tale, the puffer fish. If anyone is home schooling at the moment, here is your next biology lesson sorted!

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Actinopterygii

Conservation Status: Not Extinct (NE)

WHAT IS SYKES?

Sykes is a caricature of Martin Scorsese in fish format, otherwise known as a puffer fish. They belong to the Tetraodontidae family and are related to several similar species of fish, such as globefish, swellfish, and (my favourite) sugar toads. Most species of puffer are toxic and are poisonous if consumed. They are famous for this, puffer fish poison has been the murder weapon in many TV shows. It is also a method of murder in the Sims 4, if that's the way you like to play life simulators! Their scientific name, however, is for their teeth rather than their toxic qualities. They have four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate which are used for crushing their prey.

There are at least 200 species of puffer fish belonging to the Tetraodontidae and they are found across the world, usually near to the coast. Fish found in this location are called estuarine fish, as they are close to estuaries. Logic. They are picky about the temperature, having never been found in colder climes. They like tropical waters and can you really blame them?

WHAT WOULD SYKES LOOK LIKE IRL?

Well, he wouldn't have them brows for starters. Fish generally don't have eyebrows! Puffers are classed as medium to small fish, even when fully puffed out. Most of the time, they look like relatively normal fish - if a little on the chonky side. Some species are drab but others come in a variety of patterns. Some are spotted, some are striped, some are both! Certain species can even vary the intensity of their patterns, akin to the chameleon, in response to environmental changes. No eyebrows in sight, though. Their eyes, while in the area, can move independently!

Puffers make no attempt to hide themselves from predators, which is likely to be because of aposematism. This is when an animal's colour signifies their toxicity. They are signalling to the other creatures that they are poisonous and it is dangerous to eat them.

When activating their iconic defense, puffer fish become distinctly round and very chonky. They do this by expanding their elastic stomach and filling it with water, growing up to three times their usual size. When puffed, pointed spines are revealed which are not necessarily visible the rest of the time. So they go from a colourful snack to a spiky ball that is hard to bite. 

Picture from Wall Street International

WHAT DOES SYKES EAT?

The puffer's diet varies across the species largely due to location. Their teeth are designed to crush small invertebrates which is their primary food source. However, they will graze on algae as well making them omnivorous. Certain species with little access to resources will be primarily vegetarian and eat algae as it will grow anywhere and everywhere. Still, they prefer the omnivorous diet. Larger species will brave bigger invertebrates and wrap their fused teeth around clams, mussels, and other shellfish.

As a smaller fish, puffer fish will find themselves on the menu for something bigger. This is why they have their iconic defense. Especially as they are actually quite slow. They move using their pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins which makes them highly maneuverable and able to put on quick bursts of speed. However, their usual pace is somewhat slower. That makes them a likely target for hungry predators. Puffer fish have excellent eyesight and it is used as their first line of defense against predation with their quick escape.

Still, some predators will pursue them and that triggers the expanse. Sometimes, the puffer will expand while being eaten instead of beforehand which lodges them in the predator's throat and chokes them. If the predator is (ahem) lucky enough to munch on a puffer without triggering its puff, then it will likely die from tetrodotoxin poisoning. This is the neurotoxin found in most species of puffer fish, in their livers and ovaries. Basically, they would not be the best dinner. After all that effort, it could still kill whatever eats it!

Having said that, not all species are toxic and their neurotoxin levels vary from species to species. Plus, not all species of predators are vulnerable to their toxicity, like lizardfish and sharks, and are routinely consumed by such badasses. 

HOW DOES SYKES LIVE?

Like many species of fish, puffers have a pelagic stage to their reproduction cycle. This means, they spawn in open seas and the larvae spend the first stages of their life out in the big blue before moving back to coastal areas as they mature. Courting varies across the species; from males pushing females to the surface to making sand nests. The eggs produced are spherical and buoyant, floating in the water column for four days before hatching. The fry look like very tiny versions of puffer fish. There is very little information on the specifics and there is much variation across the two hundred species of puffer fish.

With nesting puffers, females will spawn on the sea bed and leave the eggs in the males' care. The males watch over the eggs until they hatch but do not maintain the nest, letting it deteriorate over the few days it takes for the eggs to hatch. They will defend the eggs from predators and rival males. Their job is done once the eggs hatch; they leave the fry and the nest, never to reuse the site again.

Picture from Live Science

WHAT THREATENS SYKES?

Thankfully, not very much. The puffer fish species are not regarded at any level of vulnerability. In fact, when I looked it up, it only said Not Extinct. So, yay?

Despite their toxic nature, they are considered a delicacy in certain parts of the world. Providing you know how to prepare them correctly. Leave the wrong bit in and you are history. The dishes made from puffer are called fugu chiri (a soup) and sashimi fugu (raw puffer meat). They take great skill to prepare and should not be tried in the kitchen at home. Not unless you are a highly trained chef, specialising in puffer fish dishes. Then, knock yourself out!

In fact, the puffer fish is more dangerous to us than we are to it. (Pollution and receeding habitats aside.) Incorrectly prepared fugu will make you unwell and can even hospitalise you. Generally not needed in a time of pandemic.

FUN FACTS

• David Attenborough is a fan of this species of puffer, as the males make elaborate circular nests in the sand to impress the ladies.
• There are a few non-toxic puffers, namely the northern puffer found in Chesapeake Bay.
• Titusville, FL, have banned harvesting puffer fish from certain areas after a spike in cases of TTX poisoning.
• It has been observed that dolphins use puffer fish toxins to get high.
• While most species of puffer are small-ish, there are a few which can grow up to 1m (3ft)!
• The smallest puffer is less than 2.5cm (1 inch) long.
• There is one species of puffer which is Critically Endangered, the Chinese Puffer, which has had a 99% population decrease. I'll give you ten guesses as to why...
• It takes an average of 5/6 hours for puffers to de-puff.
• Their skeletons are awesome, just look!

Picture from Deep Sea News

Thank you everyone who voted! I hope you enjoyed learning about Sykes. Any suggestions for next month? Know anything else interesting about puffers? Lemme know below!

Listening to: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa and Trolls World Tour