The most dangerous fish in the world, with the largest venom gland of any other fish

The devil-faced fish possesses 13 poisonous spines hidden along its dorsal fin and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as having the largest venom gland compared to any other fish species.

Devil-faced fish is 30 - 40 cm long, lives on coral reefs. They hunt fish and crustaceans by lying motionless in camouflage and waiting for their prey to approach and then attack quickly. After the fish identifies its prey, the devil-faced fish launches a bite in just 0.015 seconds to swallow the opponent whole.

Each spine on the fin running along the spine of the devil-faced fish is equipped with two external venom glands, containing an extremely strong amount of poison and can cause intense pain, even leading to death. When the devil-faced fish feels threatened, its needle-like spikes are erected vertically as a defense

Biological researcher Bryan Fry, associate professor at the University of Queensland, Australia, said that when the victim steps on the fish's back, the venom gland will dilate and the spines along the dorsal fin will spray out poison. Poisoned victims will suffer extremely painful pain.

Every year, hundreds to thousands of people on the east coast of Australia step on this poisonous fish.

In 1959, an antivenom for this fish was developed to reduce the possibility of serious complications.

"Devil-faced fish" is the name used to call 5 species of fish belonging to the genus Synanceia, often living in coral reefs (Synanceia verrucosa) and estuaries (Synanceia horrida). This fish has the ability to hide among corals or reefs at the bottom of the Indo-Pacific, so it is considered a "master of disguise".

Samuel Daniel

Update 13 May 2024