The Amazon Puffer (Colomesus asellus) has a wide distribution in the Amazon and its tributary rivers. The species can tolerate some salt in the water; inasmuch, it and can be found in coastal brackish waterways. It is a fish common to the aquarium hobby. Like other pufferfishes, these fish are poisonous to predators that try to consume them. One of the prominent skin toxins in this species is saxitoxin. The toxin that pufferfishes are so infamous for defending themselves with, tetrodotoxin, appears to be in very low concentration in this species, if present at all. Interestingly for those familiar with tetrodotoxin, the species of pufferfishes that wield the poison for defense do not appear to produce the toxic substance; rather, symbiotic bacteria produce the compound and live on the bodies of the fishes. This individual was photographed in Iquitos, Loreto, Peru, October 2018. | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Fenolio, Dante |
Taille de l’image : | 6000 px × 4000 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |