The most dangerous inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful, but dangerous inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Giant freshwater stingray

It seems that many dangerous inhabitants are hiding in the depths of the ocean. Meanwhile, the danger of most of them is a very conditional concept. After all, they cause harm only to those who disturb or attack them. Usually, if such creatures are not deliberately touched, then they do not carry danger. Another thing is when they are forced to defend themselves or their home.

Zebra fish. This fish is also called the striped lionfish, it belongs to the scorpion family. You can meet her in the coastal waters of the Red Sea, in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Zebra fish are found off the coast of Australia, Japan and China. Her body is 30-40 centimeters long, painted with pink stripes. The lionfish was nicknamed because of the long fins in the form of ribbons on the back and chest. It is there, in this beauty, that poisonous needles are hidden. A prick of a lionfish leads to the appearance of severe pain. From it, people can fall into a state of shock or even lose consciousness. Poisoning is very difficult, it lasts for several hours. During this time, a person experiences convulsions, the activity of his heart worsens. The victim must be immediately pulled ashore, otherwise he may simply drown. Although it is believed that zebra fish are able to kill a person, such cases have not been documented in any of its habitats.

Cones. This name is given to a whole family of predatory gastropods. Usually mollusks live in warm tropical seas, only a few of them climb into cold waters. The cones themselves are very active, especially when touched in their own habitat. The toxic apparatus of these creatures includes a poisonous gland connected by a channel with a hard proboscis with a radula-grater. It is located near the narrow end of the shell. The teeth of the mollusk are replaced by sharp spikes. Although most cones feed on marine worms, there are exceptions in this family - fishing cones and mollusc-eating cones. If the shell is touched, the cone quickly extends the radula, piercing the spines into the body. The injection is accompanied by acute pain, a person may even lose consciousness. The site of the lesion begins to go numb, sensitivity is lost in other areas. As a result, paralysis of the respiratory organs and the entire cardiovascular system may even occur. The poison of the cone is similar in its effect to the poison of the cobra. There is a blockage of signals from the nerves to the muscles. The statistics give impressive data - every third, and then the second case of a cone prick with a thorn becomes fatal for a person. It is only worth noting that the people themselves are the cause of misfortune. A person is attracted by the beauty of the shell and wants to pick it up. The cone begins to defend itself. Today, based on the poison of the cone, they even began to produce drugs that help against epileptic seizures or simply anesthetize.

Cyanea hairy. You don't like jellyfish? Meet cyanide - the world's largest jellyfish. It lives in all northern waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, it can be found close to the surface in coastal waters. In October 1997, an individual with an umbrella diameter of 74-76 centimeters was caught in Peter the Great Bay. And on the east coast of the United States, the famous zoologist Louis Agissitz caught a jellyfish with a dome diameter of 2.2 meters in the last century. But another record got into the Guinness Book of Records - the maximum diameter of an umbrella was 2.28 meters, and the length of the tentacles was 36.5 meters! In a jellyfish, the umbrella is supplied with strong muscles, while the muscles are brown or dull in color with a red or brown tint. The main part of the body is painted red with a brick or crimson hue. Tentacles descend from the edges of the umbrella, they eventually form a continuous curtain. Cyanei are predatory creatures. On their long and numerous tentacles there are many stinging cells. Medusa can shoot them, as a result, a strong poison enters the victim's body. He is able to kill small animals, causing severe damage even to large creatures.

Scorpio. This fish, better known to us as the sea ruff, gave its name to a fairly large family of scorpionfish. It lives in the seas adjacent to the Mediterranean, as well as in itself, as well as in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and Europe. The scorpion prefers coastal waters, where it likes to hide in algae and just lie on the bottom waiting for prey. As soon as some careless fish or a large crayfish swim up to the fish at a distance of 10-15 centimeters, it makes a sharp jerk, opening its mouth wide. Along with the flow of water, prey also gets there. For this, the scorpionfish is well camouflaged - it has skin outgrowths on the head and a variegated coloration with dark spots on the body. Every month, the sea ruff goes through a molt. The top layer of skin is shed off like a snake. The scorpionfish meets the enemy with its thorns. The injections of this fish are quite dangerous for humans, they are very painful. In addition, infections often get into the wounds. The area around the injection begins to hurt and swell, the temperature rises.

Box jellyfish. This animal belongs to the class of cnidarians. The box jellyfish lives off the coast of northern Australia and in Indonesia. The creature was notorious for its ability to inflict severe burns. All tentacles of the jellyfish are covered with stinging cells containing a strong poison. The burns inflicted are very painful, the strength of the poison is such that it is capable of killing 60 adults in three minutes. Scientists have calculated that the box jellyfish has caused the deaths of at least a hundred people over the past century. This became the basis for the widespread opinion that this is the most dangerous and poisonous jellyfish in the world's waters, and perhaps even the most dangerous animal in the world. In those places where the box jellyfish lives, they put up special mesh barriers that protect swimmers. Dangerous creatures cannot penetrate people through small cells.

Pufferfish. This fish of the pufferfish family is better known as puffer fish, dog fish or ball fish. It contains the strong poison tetrodotoxin. The pufferfish is usually found in the warm seas of the tropics and subtropics. When the situation around the fish inspires danger, it can increase in size by 2-3 times. Moreover, such a skill does not depend at all on the environment in which it resides. Indeed, in the abdominal cavity there are special bags that can collect both water and air. She received the nickname fish-dog, like the pufferfish, for her unusual arrangement of teeth. They grew together, making four strong plates. They are so strong that the fugu with their help easily hides the shells of crabs and mollusks, getting their food. The poison tetrodotoxin is found in the internal organs of the fish, most of it is in the liver and caviar, as well as in the gallbladder and skin. As a result, fish caviar and liver cannot be eaten at all, but the rest of the body requires careful and special pre-treatment. If the poison remains, it blocks the sodium channels of nerve cell membranes. Muscles will quickly become paralyzed, breathing will stop. To cook fugu, all chefs must be licensed. Despite this, several people die every year from food poisoning.

Warty. In the warty family there is a carnivorous stone fish, on the back of which poisonous spikes are located. Of all the poisonous fish, this one is the most dangerous. The usual size of a wart is 20-40 centimeters. She leads a sedentary lifestyle, preferring coastal waters. Dangerous fish merges with stones, it is very difficult to notice it even on land during frequent low tides. On the dorsal fin of the stone fish there are 12 thick spines, with the help of which it injects the produced poison into the victim. A little irritation is already enough for the wart to raise its thorns. They are strong and sharp, which helps to easily penetrate deep into the muscle. Even bathers' shoes do not become an obstacle. Within a few hours, the unfortunate loses consciousness, tormented by unbearable pain and damage to vital nerve centers. If the thorn hit a large blood vessel, then death can occur in 2-3 hours.

Blue-ringed octopuses. This small octopus lives in the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and the nearest zones of the Indian Ocean. It is very small - its length is not more than 20 centimeters, and its weight is not more than 100 grams. When an octopus gets excited, it covers everything with bright blue spots. If it is calm, then outwardly it is no different from its other harmless counterparts. This mollusk, on the other hand, has a strong poison - a neurotoxin, which is produced by the salivary glands. The substance has two components, each of which is lethal on its own. The poison simultaneously affects the muscular and nervous systems, leading to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. Until recently, only the only possible means of saving such an octopus who had suffered from the poison was known. The person should immediately do prolonged artificial respiration.

Sea urchins. These creatures belong to the class of echinoderms. In total, there are almost 940 species of sea urchins in the world. Their bodies usually have a spherical shape, varying in diameter from 2-3 centimeters to 30. Sea urchins are covered with calcareous plates, which together form a dense shell. On it are games that have a length of 1-2 millimeters for flat hedgehogs to 25-30 centimeters for diadem hedgehogs. Among hedgehogs there is even a species that does not have needles at all - toxopneustes. Needles perform an important function for these creatures. With their help, sea urchins feed, protect themselves and move. In some species, the needles are also poisonous. Such sea urchins have mainly chosen the tropics and subtropics of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. When fragile needles penetrate the body, they usually break. In this case, toxins penetrate the tissues. At the moment the body is hit by the needles of a poisonous sea urchin, a person may feel severe pain. It takes only a few minutes and the temperature rises significantly in the affected area, swelling appears. The skin can lose sensitivity here, there is atony and sometimes even paralysis of the affected limb.

Stingrays. These stinging rays have a body length of up to 2.5 meters in diameter, and their weight reaches 16 kilograms. Near the very base of the tail is a large barb with serrations along the cut. Her injections are extremely dangerous, because there are poisonous glands in the groove. The poisonous properties of the stingray have been known for a long time, even the ancient Greeks used poison from the stingray thorn as an anesthetic for dental treatment. Today, people quite often come into contact with this stingray. Every year, more than 3 thousand people suffer from a prick of its thorn in the world. True, usually stingrays prefer not to contact a person, hiding when he appears. The poisonous spike is just a defensive weapon that is used only in case of danger. Such a stingray can count the attempts of overly curious divers to get to know it better. This is how the famous Australian TV presenter Steve Irwin, the famous crocodile hunter, died in 2006. When the film "The Most Dangerous Inhabitants of the Ocean" was filmed near the Great Barrier Reef, the presenter received an injection from a stingray right in the heart. Save Irwin failed.

Candidate of Naval Sciences, Professor V. DYGALO.

Rear Admiral Viktor Ananyevich Dygalo is a man who was born by the sea, and then gave him most of his life. In 1944, as an eighteen-year-old boy, he participated in the fighting on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, in 1945 - in the Victory Parade. Then there were twenty years of service in submarines, command of a division, which included the missile submarine K-129, which tragically died in March 1968 near the Hawaiian Islands. The seasoned sailor traveled all the seas and oceans, called at the ports of Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa and Europe, crossed the equator twice. He observed marine animals not only in the open ocean, but also in giant aquariums in Singapore and Suez. Knowledge of the underwater world and impressions from what he saw were reflected in an article about those inhabitants of the ocean who should be feared.

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

When they talk about the dangers that the ocean is fraught with, they first of all remember sharks. One mention of them inspires fear, the image of a giant man-eating shark from the famous American movie Jaws, filmed in the early 1970s based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, immediately rises before your eyes.

In fact, sharks, with the exception of a few species, and there are more than 250 in total, do not attack humans themselves. Other toothy marine giant predators behave in the same way. But it will not be about them.

Most dangerous marine animals are found among small, often inconspicuous or, conversely, very bright and colorful marine life. These seemingly harmless creatures produce the strongest, sometimes deadly poisons. Scientists count about 500 species of poisonous fish, 93 species of poisonous intestinal animals, 91 species of molluscs, 26 species of echinoderms. But don't give in to fear. Poisonous marine animals strike a person, as a rule, in self-defense, when he disturbs them or hurts them with a careless movement.

One of the most poisonous and also the ugliest marine animals is the stone fish. It is also called tubercles or warts. This creature is only 15-20 centimeters long, with an ugly large head, small eyes and a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw. Naked, without scales, brownish-brown, sometimes with light spots and stripes, the body of the stonefish is covered with bumps and warts, and hard poisonous spikes stick out of the dorsal fin. Usually the wart hides among corals, under stones, buries itself in silt or sand and can remain on the shore in puddles after low tide. It looks like a piece of stone and is inconspicuously colored, so it is almost impossible to notice it. If a person steps on a stone fish or accidentally touches it, it will immediately plunge into it the spikes of its fins, at the base of which there are poisonous glands. Wart venom is extremely dangerous. There are cases when a person died a few hours and even minutes after being stung by her poisonous spikes.

The stone fish is found in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Islands and northern Australia, where the inhabitants call it the warty vampire. People who are lucky enough to survive a wart injection often remain disabled, because its poison destroys red blood cells and affects the central nervous system. Unlike the stone fish, the master of "camouflage", the zebra fish, or lionfish, has a very noticeable appearance. Her body is 30-40 centimeters long and is painted with bright pink stripes. The main decoration of the lionfish is long ribbons of dorsal and pectoral fins. They resemble fans of ostrich feathers or a lion's mane. Hence another name for lionfish - lion fish. But perhaps her most apt nickname is the turkey fish. When she swims slowly, opening her pectoral and lacy caudal fins like a fan, she really resembles a turkey marching importantly through the poultry yard. It is in these luxurious fins that sharp poisonous needles lurk. An injection of lionfish, like warts, causes severe pain, from which people lose consciousness or fall into a state of shock.

It is believed that zebra fish can kill a person, but such cases have not been documented in any of the places where it lives (in the coastal waters of the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and also in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China, Japan and Australia). It is dangerous to approach the lionfish, especially from the side. Reacting to a change in the situation, she turns her dorsal fin to the troublemaker to inflict a poisonous injection on him with lightning speed. Lionfish poisoning is very difficult: it is accompanied by convulsions, a violation of the heart, it happens that gangrene develops at the puncture site. Fishermen have been wary of the poisonous sea dragon since ancient times. The prick of its spikes, located on the dorsal fin and along the gill slits, is considered no less painful and dangerous than the prick of a zebra fish. It can cause respiratory failure, convulsions, and even lead to cardiac arrest. There are from five to seven dorsal spikes in a dragon, each of them is covered with a thin layer of skin, the tip of the spike sticks out of it like a needle. The baby dragon is found off the coast of Norway and the British Isles and further south to the Mediterranean Sea and the coast of North Africa. Poisonous spikes sting their prey and stingrays, known as the sea cat. According to statistics, in the United States alone, about 1,500 people suffer from their injections every year. This happens not because stingrays are especially aggressive, they simply chose coastal waters for living in a vast area - from the countries of Northern Europe and North America to the middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere, and there are almost always a lot of swimmers and fishermen.

The sea cat's weapon is one or more sharp spines located at the end of a whip-like tail. Even in a small half-meter stingray living in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the length of the tail spike reaches 20 centimeters, and in 3-4-meter rays, there is a 30-centimeter spike on the tail as thick as a human foot. The stingray is capable of delivering a blow of such force that it can pierce the bottom of the boat with its tail spike.

Sea cat venom is highly toxic. It enters the wound with tissue filling the grooves of the spikes and immediately affects the cardiovascular system (causes a drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate), poisoning is accompanied by vomiting and intense sweating. Pacific Islanders, Malays, Australian Aborigines and Indians of South and Central America have long made arrowheads from stingray needles. According to ancient Greek mythology, Odysseus was killed with such an arrow. In West Africa and Ceylon, whips were made from the prickly tails of small stingrays, with which criminals were punished, and in the Seychelles such whips were held to intimidate wives. Among the sea urchins belonging to the order of echinoderms, which includes about 600 species of marine animals, some are completely harmless, others are best avoided. Poisonous hedgehogs are distributed mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Most often they affect people near the islands of the western Pacific Ocean.

The spherical body of the sea urchin is almost entirely covered with needles. Their injection causes the same pain as a red-hot nail pierced into the body, and if the needle penetrates deeply, the burning does not stop for several hours.

A great danger to humans are the inhabitants of coral reefs - tropical hedgehogs of the diadem family. Their apple-sized body is studded with 30-centimeter needles sticking out in all directions, similar to knitting needles. They are very mobile, sensitive and instantly react to irritation. If a shadow suddenly falls on the hedgehog, he immediately directs the needles in the direction of danger and puts them together in several pieces into a sharp, hard pike. Even gloves and wetsuits do not guarantee complete protection against the formidable peaks of the sea urchin. Wounding them causes acute pain, severe shortness of breath, even paralysis is possible. Another poisonous sea urchin, Toxopneustes, is found off the coast of Japan. Local fishermen call this hedgehog a killer because its injections can be fatal. The toxopneuste is somewhat larger than the diadem. His body is devoid of needles, but covered with many so-called pedicillaries - flexible stems that end in something like tweezers from two or three calcareous valves. When the hedgehog is calm, its "tweezers" with open flaps slowly sway in the water. But as soon as a careless animal touches them, poisonous traps work: the valves close, and the poison is injected into the body of the captured victim. Toxopneustes holds her until she is completely paralyzed. If the prisoner still manages to get rid of the hedgehog, he carries away the tweezers that have tightly clung to the body, which continue to shrink and release poison into the wound for several more hours. A swimmer struck by this poison risks drowning.

In The Lion's Mane, Arthur Conan Doyle described the mysterious murder of a young teacher: long, sharp scars rounded from the back and captured the shoulders and ribs. Blood flowed down the chin from the lower lip bitten from unbearable pain. Sherlock Holmes solved the crime. The killer was a jellyfish! These inhabitants of the sea seem no more dangerous than the foam on the crest of a wave, but among them there are poisonous ones, the tentacles of which leave a severe burn on the body.

Poisonous include, for example, the jellyfish Tsyanei, or the Lion's Mane (the killer from the story of Conan Doyle). The diameter of the bell-shaped body of this giant reaches 2.5 meters or more, and poisonous tentacles collected in eight bundles (one and a half hundred threads in each bundle) - 30 meters! The elongated tentacles of Cyanea resemble an unusually beautiful crimson train, but when they are pulled up and wriggled, they become like balls of matted hair or, as Conan Doyle writes, a lion's mane. These jellyfish are widely distributed in the northern regions of the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. They are unlikely to kill a person, but the touch of their tentacles can cause deep skin lesions.

Compared to the huge Cyanea, the Gonionema jellyfish is quite small - no more than a piglet. Its dome is like a bell with four red-brown folds in the form of a cross on the concave side. For this, Gonionema is called a cross. It is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean: in the Sea of ​​Japan - near Vladivostok, in the Gulf of Olga, in the Tatar Strait, near the southern tip of Sakhalin, off the coast of Japan and the South Kuril Islands. Large accumulations of Gonionema are sometimes observed in Peter the Great Bay. The cross lives in shallow water in thickets of sea grass. It attaches to plants with suckers and lies in wait for prey. The burn of Gonionema is similar in sensations to a nettle burn, but unlike it, it entails a serious illness with sharp pains in the lower back and joints, shortness of breath, dry, uncontrollable cough, nausea, severe thirst, numbness of the arms and legs. The poison of the cross often even affects the psyche, then the patient falls either into a state of extreme nervous excitement, or into depression. Usually, poor health lasts 4-6 days, but for about a month, pain and discomfort may resume.

Sometimes invasions of crosses take the size of a natural disaster. Several times they appeared at the height of the swimming season in the waters of Primorye. Local residents and vacationers on the shores of the Amur Bay remember well July 17, 1966, when a myriad flock of crosses approached the beaches. More than a thousand people suffered from them then. In the summer of 1970, in just one day, 1360 people received burns from the touch of a cross, of which 116 had to be hospitalized.

Box jellyfish are also poisonous, so named for the slightly rounded cubic shape of the bell. In the lower corners of the cube, this jellyfish has four outgrowths - the so-called hands. Each "hand" is divided into several "fingers", ending in long thin tentacles. The most poisonous of the box jellyfish and probably the most deadly of all known inhabitants of the sea is the sea wasp. The danger of contact with these small (no more than 20 centimeters in diameter) translucent jellyfish is great, because they are difficult to see in the water, and they swim quite quickly. (The speed of movement of the sea wasp is 4 kilometers per hour.) Box jellyfish live in tropical waters. They are especially common off the coast of northern Australia and the Philippines. They take a liking to shallow, wind-sheltered coves with a sandy bottom, and in calm weather they come to the beaches. On hot days, box jellyfish descend to the depths, and in the mornings and evenings they rise to the surface. From the touch of their tiny tentacles studded with a thousand deadly stings, a person can die in a matter of seconds. For 25 years near the state of Queensland (Australia), about 60 people died from sea wasp burns, while only thirteen became victims of sharks.

Floating physalia are a great danger to people. Many refer to them as jellyfish, but in fact they are a huge floating colony of mutant jellyfish and polyps, in which each performs its own, strictly defined function: some "get" food, others "digest" it, others "hold the defense", the fourth are "responsible" for the offspring. Connected by a common life activity, they form a single organism.

Physalia keep afloat with the help of a pneumatophore - a swim bladder filled with gas. This gas, consisting mainly of nitrogen (about 90%) with a small admixture of oxygen and argon, is produced by glands inside the bladder. Some physalia, changing the volume of the swim bladder, can descend to different depths. A trunk extends downward from the pneumatophore, to which several hundred polyps are attached, performing various functions. The tentacles of polyps go to a depth of 20-30 meters. Along the entire length they are dotted with stinging (poisonous) cells. Contracting, the tentacles slowly drag the prey to the center of the colony, where it is digested by feeding polyps.

One of the most common types of physalia is the Portuguese man-of-war. It is found in the tropical Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Physal species close to it live off the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of southern Japan. The Portuguese boat got its name from the bright multi-colored swim bladder, reminiscent of the sail of a medieval Portuguese ship. The lower part of the bubble is blue, on top there is a bright red comb, and the whole of it shimmers with blue, violet, purple colors, gently silvering. The swimming bladder of the physalia, only 30 centimeters in size, looks like a beautiful rubber cap. Anyone who tries to fish it out of the water may get burned. It was experienced by Yuri Senkevich during his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the papyrus boat "Ra". Seduced by the beauty of the physalia, he tried to take it in his hands. “Without thinking, I grabbed it,” Senkevich later recalled, “and roared in pain, feverishly began to wash my fingers with sea water, but the sticky mucus did not lag behind. An attempt to wash the mucus with soap was also unsuccessful. My hands burned and ached, my fingers bent with difficulty. Spraying with an anesthetic medicine from a special spray gun relieved the pain for a few minutes, but she immediately returned with renewed vigor. The fingers no longer bent, the pain began to spread to the shoulders and further to the heart area, the general state of health was disgusting. I took two tablets of analgin, validol, pyramidon and, as they say, fell into bed. I was shaking with chills. It subsided gradually. First, my right hand felt better, then my left. The pain subsided only after five hours. But the malaise lasted for a long time ... "Sometimes Portuguese ships fall into the Gulf Stream and are carried by this current into the English Channel. When they accumulate off the coast of England and France or, for example, near the beaches of Florida, television, radio and the press warn the population of the danger.

The giant bivalve clam tridacna is also called the killer clam. The weight of this sea monster reaches 250 kilograms (even 430-kilogram specimens are found), and the length of the shell is about one and a half meters. And although not a single reliable case of death of people has been recorded, experienced divers assure that tridacna can clamp a person in the shell flaps, as if in a vise. So pearl divers and scuba divers stay away from her. Of the molluscs, the most dangerous are the so-called cones. They got their name from their almost regular conical shape. These poisonous fish-eating molluscs are really capable of killing a person. They inflict a prick with a sharp spike, which is pushed into a slot at the narrow end of the shell. The spike ends with a curved prong, like a harpoon. Inside the spike runs a channel from the poison gland, through which a very strong poison is injected into the wound. A prick of a cone mollusk with a thorn causes acute pain, numbness of the lesion site and other parts of the body, then paralysis of the respiratory organs and the cardiovascular system may occur. According to statistics, one out of three or even two cases of a cone stab ends in death. True, all these cases occurred through the fault of man: attracted by the beauty of the shell, he tried to pick it up and forced the cone to defend itself. In the Pacific Ocean, 2-3 people die every year from the bites of a cone mollusk, and sharks account for only one human victim. The shells of cone mollusks are no more than 15-20 centimeters long, painted in bright colors and covered with various patterns. The Gloriamaris cone, for example, called the Glory of the Seas, is considered the most beautiful shell in the world. It costs up to two thousand dollars and is highly valued by collectors. Not only on earth, but also in the ocean, there are fabulous corners - these are, according to many, coral reefs. Cirrus, branched, globular corals are a feast of colours. Among them there are bright green "shrub" and thickets of orange-yellow "trees", pink, gray, lilac "grass", yellowish-ocher "mushrooms" with inverted caps and brown "cauliflower" with a blue bloom.

For a long time, corals were considered plants. Only in the XIX century they were finally ranked among the animal world. By the way, the corals that are exhibited in museums, are used in jewelry and for decorating the interior, do not look like animals at all - this is only their calcareous skeleton. The basis of the coral is polyps - marine invertebrates 1-1.5 millimeters in size or a little more (depending on the species).

Barely born, the baby polyp begins to build a cell house, in which he spends his entire life. The microhouses of polyps are grouped into colonies, the same "trees", "shrubs", "mushrooms" ... Hungry, the polyp sticks out tentacles with many stinging cells from the "house". The smallest animals that make up plankton encounter the tentacles of a polyp, which paralyzes the victim and sends it into the mouth opening. Despite their microscopic size, the stinging cells of polyps have a very complex structure. Inside the cell is a capsule filled with poison. The outer end of the capsule is concave and looks like a thin tube twisted in a spiral, which is called a stinging thread. This tube, covered with the smallest spikes pointing backwards, resembles a miniature harpoon. When touched, the stinging thread straightens, the "harpoon" pierces the body of the victim, and the poison passing through it paralyzes the prey.

Poisoned "harpoons" of corals can also injure a person. Among the dangerous ones is, for example, fire coral. Its colonies in the form of "trees" made of thin plates have chosen the shallow waters of tropical seas.

The most dangerous stinging corals of the Millepore genus are so beautiful that scuba divers cannot resist the temptation to break off a piece as a keepsake. This can be done without burns and cuts only in canvas or leather gloves and in shoes with rubber soles or in fins that completely cover the foot. Such precautions will save not only from burns, but also from cuts. And although the wounds received in contact with corals are usually shallow, they heal for a long time and can even turn into trophic ulcers.

From time immemorial, one of the occupational diseases of divers has been considered the "disease of sponge catchers", when a burning purple rash and ulcers appeared on the body of an underwater swimmer. For a long time it was believed that the culprit of this disease was a sea sponge. But at the beginning of this century, scientists discovered that it was dangerous to touch not the sponges themselves, but the burning tentacles of the anemones sitting on them, another representative of the coral polyps. Anemones are large animals up to one meter high with soft tubular bodies devoid of a calcareous skeleton. They do not live in colonies, but one by one, in search of shelter they are able to overcome a short distance. Having chosen a place, sea anemones are attached to shells, stones, dead corals with the help of a "sole" located at the lower end of the tubular body. In the upper part of the body, the sea anemone has a mouth surrounded by numerous tentacles collected in a corolla. These tentacles are surprisingly similar to chrysanthemums, dahlias or asters and differ in the same variety - there are purple, brown, snow-white, green, pale blue anemones. The pink sea anemone, which likes to sit on lips, despite its beauty, is the most dangerous. It is found off the coast of Iceland, Europe, Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea. Its no less poisonous relatives adamsia and anemone are even more widespread: adamsia - from Norway to Spain, and anemone - in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Norway and Scotland to the Canary Islands.

Human contacts with the inhabitants of the sea are becoming closer. The underwater world attracts with amazing beauty and diversity. But in order for a meeting with him to be safe, you need to know marine animals, especially those that are classified as poisonous.

LITERATURE

Dozier Thomas. Dangerous sea creatures. - M.: Mir, 1985.

Zhogolev D., Keller A. Dangerous animals of the sea and some land areas. M.: Military Publishing, 1984.

Ocean. Collection of JV "Interprint". - M.: 1990.

Richiuti Edward R. Dangerous inhabitants of the sea (translated from English). - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979.

Halsted B. Dangerous marine animals. - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979.

When we go on a summer vacation to some exotic place where there is a sea, a beach and a friendly sun, we rarely think about what dangers a careless traveler can face in a completely different geographical zone, where the animal world developed completely differently.

If you ask people “What can swim in the sea turn into?”, then most will name the main dangers of sharks and random cramps that can lead to drowning. However, many do not even realize how inventive our nature is in terms of killing living organisms.

We have prepared for you the top 9 most dangerous animals that live in sea water, many of which bribe with their harmless appearance, but they can kill a person in a matter of minutes.

1. Blue-ringed octopuses

This, at first glance, cute cephalopod rarely reaches a size of more than 20 centimeters and lives mainly in the coastal waters of Australia. The bright unusual color of the animal can easily attract the attention of amateur divers. But if you decide to cuddle the baby with your hands, then you should know: in front of you is one of the most poisonous animals on the planet, and, possibly, in our solar system.

The venom of the blue-ringed octopus contains a cocktail of toxic substances, among which is tetrodotoxin, one of the most powerful naturally occurring nerve poisons. The body of one such animal contains enough deadly fluid to kill almost three dozen healthy adults in a few minutes. The bites of this small creature themselves are almost painless, and the victim may never understand what caused the sudden malaise. There is no antidote, only immediate resuscitation and connection to an artificial respiration apparatus can save a person.

2. Cone snails

One of the favorite entertainments of romantics is to pick up a beautiful shell at the bottom, lean it against your ear and listen to the sound of the sea. But sometimes it's better to be a sane person and stay away from such ideas. Especially if you are vacationing in the Australian region.

Cones are one of the most beautiful molluscs in nature. These gastropods got their name because of the shape of their shell. However, do not let their beauty deceive you, because some species of these snails are one of the most dangerous animals for humans.

In the mouth of the cones are teeth, shaped like a harpoon. Sensing movement at a close distance from itself, the snail shoots the harpoon forward at incredible speed and digs into the body of its victim, injecting a toxic poison that almost instantly paralyzes the mollusk's future dinner. Cones are also bitten by people who inadvertently step on shells in coastal waters, or pick them up because of their beautiful appearance. According to biologists, death from the bites of certain types of molluscs can occur in just two minutes.

Statistics show that cones, on average, kill more people per year than sharks. In general, watch your step if you have the courage to swim in Australian waters.

3. Fish-stone (Wart)

This beast got its name because of the ability to disguise itself as stones among coral reefs. The fish is distributed throughout the southern tropic: it can be found off the coast of Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and even in Turkey. So if you are a fan of taking a ride with your family to Hurghada in the summer, then keep in mind that the sandy beaches of even the most luxurious hotels do not guarantee you complete safety in the water.

Not only does the stone fish look intimidating, it is also deadly poisonous. According to most biologists, this is the most poisonous fish on the planet. The back of the creature is covered with a series of sharp and durable spikes that can easily pierce light shoes. Each spike is filled with a toxin, the ingestion of which in the human body causes incredible pain and anguish. According to eyewitnesses, the suffering of those stung is so strong that they are ready to amputate their damaged limb with their own hands. Under certain circumstances, the death of a person from the poison of the wart can occur within 2-3 hours.

Even if the victim was saved from death, he may experience chronic suffering for several months and even years. The wart also deserves a place in the ranking of the most dangerous animals.

4. Lionfish

Continuing the theme of poisonous fish, one cannot ignore another species that, despite its bewitching beauty, can cause the death of a person.
Lionfish are common in the coastal waters of Japan, India and Australia. Individual individuals of these creatures can reach a size of 30 centimeters. Unlike warts, lionfish have a bright color that is visible underwater even from a great distance.

The fish got its name because of the large fins that look like wings. The main danger of this beauty lies in these fins: the body of the creature is simply studded with poisonous spikes, the injection of which will result in not only incredible pain for a person, but can also cause death due to paralysis and respiratory arrest. Even after receiving a non-lethal dose of poison, the victim may simply choke on water due to convulsions.

5. Sea snakes

Oddly enough, but many do not know that sea snakes are one of the most poisonous animals on the planet. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there are not so many victims of the bites of these creatures. However, these creatures belong to the asp family, and their venom can be compared with the poison of taipans and mambas in terms of toxicity.

Sea snakes are common in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. These reptiles like to stay near the shore, so the chance to meet them at an exotic resort is very high. The nature of these animals is quite calm, and they use their poisonous fangs only in self-defense and hunting. But if the bite did occur, then in the absence of qualified assistance, the death of a person can occur quite quickly.

The poison of marine reptiles is much stronger than that of their land counterparts, because its task is to instantly hit cold-blooded animals whose blood circulation is slowed down. The main thing is not to provoke snakes to aggressive actions.

6. Medusa Irukandji

Perhaps one of the most underestimated by the degree of danger of creatures among the inhabitants are jellyfish. In many resorts, you can meet people who casually take pictures with jellyfish in their hands, not even realizing that such a photo can become a dying one.

The Irukandji jellyfish is evidence that marine life is best observed from afar. This is an extremely poisonous creature that was named after a real-life tribe in Australia.

At first glance, the animal does not cause concern. It looks like a small bell, about 2 centimeters in diameter, with long, up to 1 meter, tentacles that gracefully flutter in the water. That's just the tentacles of the jellyfish are covered with special stinging cells, each of which has a small flagellum, on which there are villi. One has only to touch the tentacle of a jellyfish with a hand, as it immediately "sticks" to the skin, the stinging cells "explode" and the flagella dig into the victim's flesh.

The pain from the sting of a jellyfish is simply monstrous. Without timely medical attention, there is a high probability of death even for a strong, healthy person.
If earlier jellyfish were distributed only off the Australian coast, then due to global warming they can now be found in the waters of the entire oceans.

7. Sea wasp

Continuing the theme of jellyfish, we have to mention one of the most dangerous animals in the world. Meet the box jellyfish sea wasp. Nothing unusual, just a jellyfish that can kill more than fifty healthy adults in a couple of minutes.

The size of the dome of this box jellyfish is quite large - up to 25 centimeters, and the tentacles extend to 3 meters. However, the creature is almost transparent and it is quite difficult to see it in the water, which may lead to accidental contact with a person who decided to swim in coastal waters, or just walked in the water near the shore.

Almost always, physical contact between a person and a sea wasp is fatal. There are legends about the poison of this creature. The toxin in the cells on the jellyfish's tentacles is so strong that doctors have recorded deaths just 4 minutes after the burn. Often, people stung while swimming do not even have time to get to the shore.

The box jellyfish sea wasp has become a symbol of mortal danger. She even starred in the famous drama "7 Lives", where the main role was played by Will Smith, whose character chose the fastest way to die - to get burned by box jellyfish.

8. Sea cat

Against the background of the previous killers in our top of the most dangerous animals of the deep sea, the stingray (Sea cat) does not look so terrifying. However, because of the poisonous spike at the end of the tail of this creature, thousands of people suffer every year, who, through their negligence, disturb the stingrays, or take them in their arms.

Most often, a stingray stab is not fatal, but there are exceptions. For example, in 2006, the famous Australian naturalist Steve Irwin, “crocodile hunter,” died from an injection. As the zoologist swam over the stingray, the animal twisted and stabbed its spike straight into Steve's chest. The blow was so strong that the thorn pierced through the heart of a person, causing instant death.

9. Burning corals

Yes, these corals also belong to the animal kingdom. The scientific name of such creatures is millepora, and it is rather difficult to distinguish them from ordinary corals, especially considering that they settle right on coral reefs.

The body of these animals has a defense mechanism against predators, which is similar to the principle of nettle hairs, but with more serious consequences from burns. Divers love to chip off a piece of coral as a keepsake, or simply touch an unusual curiosity under water, and can pay a lot for it. According to the stories of the victims, the burn from touching such corals can be compared in pain with a burn from hot metal.

In general, the venom of this creature is not lethal, but the pain shock underwater can cause convulsions, an uncontrolled respiratory reflex, and drowning.

Not all dangerous marine animals are included in this list. Even more secrets are kept by the unexplored depths of the oceans, where even mechanical devices created by man rarely look. From all of the above, we can conclude: wherever you go on vacation, no matter how confident you are in your physical abilities, always be vigilant, take care of your loved ones, study possible dangers. Even the most poisonous creature is a unique creation of nature, which is interesting to watch from a safe distance, and even better - on the pages of the site.

At the bottom of the ocean, we are most vulnerable for obvious reasons. Humans throughout the history of evolution have not adapted to extract oxygen from water. Any animal with sharp teeth and a strong bite can be a threat to life. The oceans are filled with deadly animals. The exceptions are those that do not threaten human life and are dangerous only when they protect themselves, for example, puffer fish.
10. SEA SNAKE

If you ever thought that only land snakes pose a deadly threat to human life, then you should think again. Sea snakes also have venom that is extremely dangerous to humans. But extremely rarely they release poison by biting their prey. However, if sea snakes inject venom, the consequences can be dire.
When they bite, a small amount of venom is released. The victim does not immediately feel the effect of the poison. Within an hour, symptoms such as headache, swollen tongue, and vomiting begin to appear. This is followed by convulsions and progressive muscle paralysis.
After 3-8 hours from the time of the bite, myoglobin begins to appear in the blood. As a result, muscle tissue is destroyed. Kidney failure may also occur. After 6-12 hours (unless treated), severe hypercalcemia can lead to a heart attack and sometimes death.
9. BARRACUDA


Fast, vicious and capable of inflicting incredible injury - a frightening combination of an underwater devil. The barracuda has a long, snake-like body with sharp, fang-like teeth. Her teeth look and work on the same principle as the teeth of a piranha. Barracudas grow up to two meters and are known for being fast swimmers. To catch up with their prey, they can reach speeds of up to 45 km / h.
Before biting prey, barracudas calculate its weight. Barracudas have very sharp teeth that can damage nerves and blood vessels. They don't meet people very often. But if the meeting happens, then most likely there will be a bloody clash. Barracudas may well bite off part of the human body. Some barracudas contain poison. Under the influence of poison, the victim may experience hallucinations and multiple side effects.
8. MUREN


Moray is most often found in the depths of the ocean. They avoid human contact whenever possible and are considered comparatively shy creatures.
However, when threatened, moray eels may show that they are not the ones to play with. An infected wound can occur from a moray eel bite, since their oral cavity contains a huge amount of bacteria. Moray eels have poor eyesight and rely heavily on a keen sense of smell. Many divers have lost their fingers while trying to hand feed.
7. FISH-STONE


This small fish species looks unusual. The fish is like a stone, which helps to disguise itself from predators. Unfortunately, anyone who accidentally steps on a fish will stumble upon sharp spikes that can easily pierce bare feet. In most cases, rockfish sting when stepped on and less often when picked up.
Stone fish can sting not only in water, but also on land, as it can do without water for 24 hours. When a fish stings, the victim feels pain due to the wound. She also receives a small dose of a neurotoxin that can block her breathing apparatus and lead to cardiac arrest. Poisonous, dangerous and destructive fish for people.
6. SKAT

At first glance, the stingray seems to be a rather passive animal, but don't underestimate it. The stingray usually behaves calmly, but can sometimes cause serious harm with its sharp tail.
The end of the stingray's tail is capable of rupturing arteries. The tail contains poison, which is extremely dangerous for mammals. Contact with a stringer from the action of the poison causes injury, pain, swelling, muscle cramps. And then infection from bacteria and fungi can occur. Although the wound is extremely painful, it is not life threatening until the stingray touches vital organs.
5. TIGER SHARK


The great shark is famous for having the widest range of food among all sharks. It feeds on a variety of prey ranging from fish, seals, birds, squid, turtles to dolphins and even smaller sharks.
The bull shark makes a pretty strong impression, but the tiger shark is something else. She does not look for people as food. However, the tiger shark often enters shallow reefs, harbors and channels, posing a potential threat to humans.
Sharks rarely attack humans, but tiger sharks make up a large percentage of fatal attacks. Thus, they are among the most dangerous animals in the ocean. And the worst thing is that a delicate sense of smell and strong teeth allow sharks to quickly deal with any prey. And sometimes a person can become an unfortunate prey.
4. GREAT WHITE SHARK


The majestic name does not carry optimism, but speaks of merciless cruelty. The great white shark is easily recognizable by its size. It reaches up to six meters in length, and the weight can be 3324 kg. Another distinguishing feature of sharks is that they attack their prey from below with their mouths wide open, and their razor-sharp teeth cause maximum damage.
Anyone who has seen the movie "Jaws" should know that these creatures pose a mortal danger to humans. There have been a significant number of unprovoked attacks on humans by great white sharks with fatal outcomes.
3. MARINE CROCODILE


Always be on the lookout for salt water. Crocodiles attack when least expected. Saltwater crocodiles are known to have 10 times the bite force of the great white shark. Unlike sharks, crocodiles can walk on land.
Like most crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles are not picky about their food choices. They select prey based on availability. However, earlier saltwater crocodiles killed thousands of people every year. Most cases remain unreported.
Saltwater crocodiles are known to have eaten over 400 retreating Japanese soldiers during World War II. Soldiers were crossing a river that contained thousands of crocodiles.
2. BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS


Despite its small size, the octopus contains poison that can kill 26 adult males within minutes. Their bites are small and often painless. Many victims don't even realize they've been bitten until respiratory depression and paralysis set in.
Poison poisoning can lead to nausea, respiratory arrest, heart attack, and often complete paralysis. With untimely treatment, sometimes death occurs. Given the fact that the antidote for the bite of blue-ringed octopuses has not yet been created, they are one of the most dangerous animals for humans.
1. KUBOMEDUSA


When it comes to dangers at sea, size doesn't matter. The box jellyfish contains one of the most dangerous poisons on the planet.
Accidentally touching the poisonous tentacles of a jellyfish causes severe pain and a burning sensation, which can lead to death. But the most dangerous thing is that people cannot detect jellyfish because of their transparency before they harm them.

Every year in the world there are accidents with tourists on vacation. Wrong behavior on the water, abuse of alcoholic beverages, ignorance of elementary safety standards leads to disastrous consequences.

Exotic holidays are also popular with Russian tourists, where you can get acquainted with the diverse fauna of the warm seas. For example, in Egypt, as an excursion, it was proposed to go scuba diving in the open sea, where vacationers could take pictures of beautiful fish and touch them with their hands. However, no one warned that almost half of them are poisonous and pose a danger to humans up to death.

Due to the deterioration of the ecological situation around the world, large predators in search of prey migrate to places that are unusual for their habitat, swim close to the coast. For example, in 2011, a record number of shark attacks on people around the world were recorded. In Primorye, where sharks have never swam to the shore before and did not show aggression, there have been several such cases. Also in 2015, sharks attacked tourists at the most popular resorts in Egypt. Therefore, before going on a sea vacation, it is important to know the simple safety rules when swimming in the sea.

Basic safety rules at sea

1. Before going on a sea holiday, study the inhabitants that pose a danger to humans.
2. While in the water, do not touch the marine life with your hands.
3. Do not swim in the sea at night or at dawn, or alone.
4. Avoid swimming in poor visibility and murky water.
5. Carefully look under your feet when entering the sea.
6. Wear special shoes near coral reefs.
7. It is not recommended to swim during a strong wind and after a storm, as many jellyfish wash ashore.
8. Choose low-key swimwear and swim trunks to avoid attracting the attention of sharks and other dangerous fish.
9. Do not swim further than 10 meters from the shore.
10. Pay attention to the badges and flags on the beach. The color of the flag can signal danger.

Let us analyze in more detail the main marine inhabitants that pose a danger to humans.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish have special stinging cells with poison on their bodies, which can cause severe burns. As a rule, they are in a fringe that hangs under the dome. Many jellyfish living in the Russian seas are absolutely harmless, and touching them will hardly cause a burn.

Very often you can observe how children play with jellyfish, throw them at each other. However, among a large number of harmless jellyfish, a dangerous jellyfish that accidentally swam after a strong wind or storm can be caught. Therefore, it is worthwhile to prepare your family members in advance for the fact that you cannot take jellyfish in your hands.

Jellyfish habitat: warm waters of the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black, Caspian, Azov, Red Seas, Indian Ocean, Amur Bay (Vladivostok).

Especially dangerous jellyfish:

Tunisia (Mediterranean Sea) - black jellyfish, Canary Islands - Portuguese boat

The coast of the Black, Caspian and Azov seas - jellyfish cornerot

Precautionary measures:

• plan ahead and choose safe seasons (for example, during the rainy season in Asian countries, the number of jellyfish near the coast increases, August and September is the season of jellyfish in Tunisia),
• do not swim in the sea immediately after the storm, do not touch the jellyfish with your hands.

In case of defeat:

• do not wash the wound (burn site) with sea or fresh water - this can lead to an even greater spread of poison.
• It is necessary to lubricate the skin with vinegar solution or alcohol, remove the remnants of the jellyfish from the skin, treat the wound with a wound healing ointment, and also take antihistamines.

sea ​​urchins

Sea urchins can be found in the warm sea on a sandy bottom, on stones, sheer cliffs in the sea or on coral reefs. They often form large concentrations on sloping rocky surfaces near the shore, can be found on metal stairs when descending into the water, grow on piers and bridges. Unlike other inhabitants of the sea, hedgehog needles do not contain poison. However, his injection is very painful and can take quite a long time. There is also a high risk of wound suppuration or tightening with the remaining needles inside.

Sea urchin habitat: warm waters of the Mediterranean, Aegean, Red Seas, Amur Bay (Vladivostok), Indian Ocean.

Particularly dangerous:

Sea urchin diadem , upon contact with which paralysis may occur.

Precautionary measures:

• be careful when entering the water, where there are accumulations of stones,
• Do not swim in muddy water or at night.

In case of defeat:

• If the needle of the sea urchin has got into the leg, then it is necessary to contact a medical institution as soon as possible.
• If this is not nearby, then you can try to remove the needle yourself, after holding the affected area in hot water and treating it with alcohol.
• In Greece, the spines of a sea urchin are pulled out as follows: they lubricate the wound with olive oil and squeeze out the spines.

Octopuses

The word "octopus" or "octopus" has been a metaphor for almost 200 years, denoting something dangerous and frightening. In fiction, cases of attacks by huge three-meter octopuses on people have been described at times. In fact, there are only a few really confirmed such cases.

The huge octopuses described in the novels of Victor Hugo live at great depths and do not attack people themselves, but rather hide from them. Meetings with such octopuses of divers in the holds of sunken ships or in underwater caves are known. Therefore, if you decide to scuba dive, avoid such places.

Small octopuses that live in the Red or Mediterranean Sea, as well as in the Indian Ocean, are dangerous only if you take a marine animal in your hands. The octopus has jaws similar to the beak of a parrot, which, when bitten, release poison that can cause paralysis and suffocation.

Octopus Habitat: Mediterranean, Aegean, Red Sea, Amur Bay (Vladivostok), Indian Ocean.

Particularly dangerous:

blue ringed octopus - lives in Japan and Australia and causes severe paralysis of the whole body.

Precautionary measures:

• do not pick up octopuses,
• do not swim in underwater caves and grottoes.
• If you are scuba diving, then be sure to have a sharp knife with you so that in case of an attack by an octopus, you can cut its dexterous tentacles.

In case of defeat: since the bite of an octopus can cause paralysis and suffocation, you need to urgently call for help and call an ambulance. Experienced fishermen recommend urinating on the site of the bite, so the poison can be neutralized.

sharks

Until recently, the Russian seas were considered practically safe in terms of the likelihood of shark attacks on people. However, in 2011, white sharks began to attack divers near Vladivostok, 10 meters from the shore. In 2016, as well as in May 2017, sharks dangerous to humans were also seen in these areas.

Shark Habitat: The Black, Azov and Caspian Seas are considered the safest due to desalinated water and pollution. Mediterranean Sea(resorts of Greece, Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, France) - over the past 100 years, 21 fatal attacks have been recorded. The most likely inhabitants are the tiger shark, mako shark, hammerhead shark and gray reef shark.

Red Sea (Egypt, Israel): about 30 species of sharks live, some of them come close to the shore. Attacks by especially dangerous white and tiger sharks are possible.

Indian Ocean: most of the attacks were registered near the coast of Australia and Africa, South Africa (Cosi Bay). Dangerous to humans like gray, tiger and great white sharks live here.

Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean: beaches near California, Florida and Hawaii are considered the most dangerous with the largest number of sharks.

Particularly dangerous:

Great white shark (cannibal shark) - one of the large and dangerous predators, reaches five meters in length. It lives in all seas and oceans, including Primorye and Sakhalin.

Mako shark (grey-blue shark) - the fastest and most aggressive shark in the world. It lives in almost all seas, including the eastern region of our country in the summer (with the exception of the Black, Azov and Caspian). Numerous cases of attacks by this shark on people standing on the shore or on the pier have been recorded.

Blue shark (blue shark) - Few cases of attacks on people are known. It lives in all seas and oceans, including Kamchatka.

Tiger shark - one of the most dangerous species of sharks for humans. In 2011, 169 cases of attacks by this shark on people were registered, 29 of which were fatal. It lives in tropical and subtropical waters (Red Sea, India, Australia, North and South America).

Precautionary measures: The main reason for shark attacks on people is the shark's poor eyesight, it mistakes a floundering person for a fish. Often vacationers themselves provoke a shark and swim closer to it. For tourists, they even came up with such dangerous entertainment as swimming with sharks. Those who choose this way of “resting” forget that sharks are predators, and they can react to bright swimwear, jewelry, as well as fresh wounds or cuts on the body, as they can feel blood at great distances.

Do not swim alone, especially near fish schools, fur seals, dolphins. Sharks love loners and most often attack solo divers. For security purposes, modern repellers and repellents have been created as a means of protection against sharks.

In case of meeting and defeat:

• If you are swimming and see a shark in the water, do not tease it, but catch a wave and try to get ashore.
• Sharks even attack a person in a boat (for example, mako shark), so if you are in a boat and a shark swims at you with the intention of attacking, you need to hit it with an oar on the nose and immediately swim to the shore. This will scare away the shark and buy time.
• Try to overcome panic and fear: the shark feels fear, this can provoke an attack.
• When meeting with a shark, you need to swim away slowly, slowly and without floundering in the water, but you should not pretend to be dead, since this method does not work with sharks.
• Just because a shark just swims by doesn't mean it wants to attack.
• A possible attack by a shark is indicated by the fact that it went straight towards you or describes circles around you.
• As a rule, the shark attacks in one sharp movement, at this moment you can strike back at its nose, eyes and gills.
• The blows must be applied quickly and many times, everything that is in the hands will come in handy. For example, a camera, a mask, fins, a stick, a stone.
• If there is a large stone nearby, you can snuggle up to it. So you reduce the angle of attack of the shark.
• If the shark attacked and swam away, then you need to call for help as soon as possible and get ashore - the predator can return.

Sea fish

The most dangerous and poisonous marine fish live in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, where tourists are offered to go scuba diving and watch the beautiful underwater world. However, it is worth remembering that no matter how beautiful the fish are, you cannot touch them.

The most dangerous and poisonous fish of the seas and oceans

Spiny arotron (relative of the deadly Fugue fish) - secretes a powerful poison — tetrodotoxin, can cause death. Lives in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean.

Lionfish (Lionfish) — This beautiful fish has needles in its fins that emit poison that causes severe pain and paralysis, which can cause death. Found in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean.

Arabian surgeon - in this fish, the tail-thorn contains a dangerous poison, very painful. Lives in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Stone fish (wartfish) — the poison secreted by its thorns is very dangerous, causes unbearable pain, leads to paralysis, tissue death and, if deeply penetrated, can cause death. Lives in the Red and Mediterranean seas.

Scorpion, sea ruff - pricks of a sea ruff cause very strong pain. It lives in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Stingray - a stingray thorn that can be stepped on contains poison. A thorn prick is extremely painful and dangerous, it can even cause death. It lives in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in the Black and Azov.

Dangerous inhabitants of the seas and oceans