Dangerous seas. The ten most deadly sea creatures for humans

The sea occupies more than 70% of the surface area globe. Scientists estimate that there are more than 12,000 species of animals living in the ocean that are potentially dangerous to humans. More than 50 thousand people every year receive injuries of varying degrees of complexity from contact with dangerous marine life. But this does not mean that you need to stay on the shore and not go into the water. Most creatures themselves never come into contact with humans, so the most important safety rule in the ocean when interacting with the underwater world is not to touch anything!

These gastropods are among the most dangerous creatures in the world. Don't be fooled by their cuteness, these little snails are armed with tiny harpoons formed from modified teeth. Inside the harpoon there is a cavity connected to the poison gland. Having approached a sufficient distance, the snail fires a harpoon and a strong toxin that has a paralytic effect is injected into the victim.

The geographic cone (Conus geographus) is especially dangerous for humans. In the Pacific Ocean, 2-3 people die annually from cone bites. According to statistics, one out of three cases of being pricked by a cone thorn ends in death. Most often, attracted by the beauty of the shell, the person would try to pick it up and force the cone to defend itself.

Stone fish or wartfish is a marine fish of the wart family with poisonous spines on its back, which lives on the bottom near coral reefs and mimics a stone. It is considered the most poisonous fish in the world. These creepy-looking fish lie on the bottom, waiting for some poor soul to step on them. Sometimes they can be found in shallow water right next to the shore.

The venom causes severe pain with possible shock, paralysis and tissue death depending on the depth of penetration. At the slightest irritation, the wart raises the spines of the dorsal fin; sharp and durable, they easily pierce the shoes of a person who accidentally steps on a fish, and penetrate deep into the foot. If the injection penetrates deeply, it can be fatal to a person if he does not receive medical attention within a few hours. If poison gets inside, depending on the depth of penetration, apply a strong tightening bandage or a hemostatic tourniquet, which is placed between the wound and the nearest bend. If the thorn gets into a large blood vessel, death can occur within 2-3 hours. Survivors sometimes remain ill for months.

The venom consists of a mixture of proteins, including hemolytic stonustoxin, neurotoxin and cardioactive cardioleptin. Since the venom is protein based, it can be denatured by applying a very hot compress to the wound site. Some relief may be obtained by treating the wound with a local anesthetic. However, this is only a temporary measure to reduce pain and shock. Medical assistance should be provided as soon as possible.

The lionfish or zebra fish is a fish of the scorpionfish family. He has a very noticeable appearance. Her body, 30-40 centimeters long, is painted with bright stripes. The main decoration of the lionfish is the long ribbons of the dorsal and pectoral fins. They resemble fans made of ostrich feathers or a lion's mane. Hence another name for lionfish - lion fish.

Getting close to this beautiful fish is very dangerous. Reacting to a change in the situation, she turns her dorsal fin towards the troublemaker to inflict a poisonous injection on him, which causes a sensation as if a hot nail had been driven into his hand. Swelling develops at the site of the lesion. The patient's well-being deteriorates sharply within the first 10 to 15 minutes after the injury. The burning pain is accompanied by general symptoms of poisoning: a drop in blood pressure, paralysis of the skeletal and respiratory muscles and, as a consequence, respiratory and cardiovascular failure. Gangrene may develop at the puncture site. There is a possibility of fatalities. In case of recovery long time What causes concern is the necrotic focus at the site of poison inoculation.

Lionfish venom is protein-based, so after the injection it is necessary to take alternately hot and cold baths so that the venom coagulates, as well as take an antihistamine and seek medical help as quickly as possible.

Lionfish are more active at night, so in some places, such as Dahab, where there are quite a lot of them, swimming at night without a flashlight can be dangerous.

4) Sea wasp

Box jellyfish, also known as sea wasp or Chironex fleckeri (lat.) is a species of marine cnidarians from the class of box jellyfish (Cubozoa), common off the coast of northern Australia and Indonesia. Representatives of this species are the largest of the box jellyfish; their dome reaches the size of a basketball. They are pale blue in color and almost transparent. The latter circumstance creates an additional danger for swimmers due to the fact that the jellyfish can be extremely difficult to see.

This jellyfish is famous for its ability to cause burns; The tentacles of the animal are completely covered with stinging cells (nematocytes), which contain very strong poison. The burn causes excruciating pain accompanied by an intense burning sensation; Jellyfish venom has multiple effects, simultaneously affecting nervous system, heart and skin. While a significant amount of venom must be released (released upon contact with approximately 3 meters of tentacles) to have a lethal effect on an adult, the potent neurotoxic venom acts extremely quickly. Fatalities have been reported within just 4 minutes of contact, which is significantly faster than any snake, insect or spider bite; This, not without reason, gave rise to the box jellyfish's notoriety as the deadliest venomous animal in the world. Although an antidote is available, timely treatment of the victim may be difficult or impossible. Swimmers stung by jellyfish often suffer a heart attack and drown before they even reach the shore or boat.

Wetting a burn with vinegar immediately inhibits all unreacted nematocytes, and rubbing the burn site only worsens the problem. It has been shown that it is ineffective to use water, urine or cola to neutralize them, which in fact can only provoke the release of poison. After using vinegar, you may need to restore breathing or perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Tentacles attached to the body should be carefully removed with protected hands or using tweezers.

Removed tentacles remain dangerous until they are destroyed over time, and even when dried they can restore their properties when moistened.

5) Blue-ringed octopus

These small octopuses spend most of their time in cracks and crevices on the seafloor or camouflage themselves in coral. They can live at a depth of up to 75 meters, but most often directly off the coast, right down to the high tide line. They live on rocks, stones, sandy and muddy bottoms, often in seagrass meadows or ascidian colonies. Shellfish shells can be used as shelter. empty bottles and beer cans.

Despite small size, have a fairly aggressive character and are recognized as one of the most poisonous animals in the world. Blue-ringed octopuses are easily recognized by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellow skin. When the octopus is irritated or frightened, brown areas appear on the skin, and the blue rings become brighter and shimmer. They feed on crabs, hermit crabs and shrimp. When disturbed or in defense, they attack the enemy.

The strength of its poison is enough to kill a person. There is currently no antidote for blue-ringed octopus venom. The poison has a nerve-paralytic effect and is produced by symbiotic bacteria that live in salivary glands octopus. The bites are small in size and often painless. Some victims did not know they had been attacked until the first signs of poisoning occurred.

First aid involves applying a pressure bandage to the wound; at the first signs of paralysis, it is also necessary to perform artificial respiration, since the poison paralyzes the respiratory centers of the victim within a few minutes after the bite. Tetrodotoxin causes severe and often complete paralysis of the body. The victim remains conscious but cannot move. This effect, however, is temporary and disappears within a few hours as the tetrodotoxin is neutralized by the body. Thus, it is necessary that artificial ventilation of the lungs is carried out until the arrival of medical personnel.

To provide full assistance, the bite victim needs hospital treatment with mandatory connection to an artificial respiration apparatus until the toxin is removed from the body. Blue-ringed octopus bites are especially dangerous for children due to their small body weight. Because death from venom occurs primarily due to respiratory arrest, bite victims survive if artificial respiration is started and continued before cyanosis and hypotension develop. Victims who survive the first 24 hours most often make a full recovery.

6) Portuguese Man of War

The Portuguese man-of-war or physalia is a colony of polypoid and medusoid individuals, externally similar to a jellyfish, but not a jellyfish. This is a siphonophore - a primitive invertebrate organism. It is a colony of four types of polyps coexisting together. Each of them performs its assigned function. It looks like a large transparent bubble at one end of the colony (pneumatophore) and long tentacles. The size of the bubble reaches 30 cm, is filled with gas and holds the colony on the surface of the water. It is this that gives the Portuguese man-of-war an external resemblance to jellyfish. The hunting tentacles of representatives of this species carry a huge number of stinging cells, the poison of which is dangerous to humans. The length of the tentacles when extended can reach 50 m.

Portuguese man-of-war feed mainly on fish larvae, as well as small fish and small squid.

Upon contact with stinging tentacles, painful swelling forms at the burn site, and muscle cramps may begin. The victim's temperature rises, chills, nausea and vomiting appear.

According to some data, for physalia burns, wetting the affected skin with a 3-5% vinegar solution helps, which prevents the stinging cells remaining in the wound from triggering. Under no circumstances should you try to wash away the poison. fresh water, this causes the destruction of entire stinging cells with poison, and the pain increases sharply. If poison gets into your eyes or the pain does not go away within a few minutes, you should see a doctor.

According to another point of view, the use of vinegar on burns received from contact with the Portuguese man-of-war is not recommended. Vinegar is used for burns after contact with jellyfish, but the poison of the Portuguese Man of War is different. The stinging cells are destroyed instantly, making vinegar ineffective. To relieve pain, it is recommended to rinse the affected areas with hot water for a long time. You can then apply ice.

7) Sea snake

There are a number of sea snakes found in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is believed that the sea snake evolved from a common snake, and many of them, like their land relatives, can be poisonous. At the same time, the venom of the sea snake is much more powerful. This is not surprising, since their daily diet consists of fish that actively move in the water and which must be quickly immobilized. They swallow their prey whole, killing it first with a bite of poisonous teeth. Fish are less sensitive to snake venom than warm-blooded animals, so the venom of sea snakes is very toxic. Its action, like the action of the venom of cobra and other representatives of the slate family, does not cause hemorrhages or tumors, but suppresses the transmission of nerve impulses, which leads to paralysis of the respiratory center and rapid death of the affected animal.

Sea snakes have small mouths and small fangs, however, they can still bite a person if they try hard enough. The good news is they are less aggressive than land snakes. Typically, if a sea snake bites you, it is usually a dry bite, i.e. without poison. If you are lucky enough to get poisonous bite, don't worry, there is an antidote. At the first signs of poisoning, quickly head to the nearest clinic.

Barracudas are large and often encountered by divers marine fish from the order Perciformes, living in all tropical and subtropical seas. A distinctive feature of barracudas is the powerful lower jaw protruding beyond the upper. A row of small, sharp teeth dot the outside of the jaw, with a row of larger teeth inside. The maximum recorded size of a barracuda is 205 cm, weight is 50 kg.

Barracudas feed on smaller fish, squid, and large shrimp. Typically, barracudas lie in wait for their prey in ambush - among stones, rocks or in thickets of underwater vegetation. But quite often in small groups they attack schools of small fish. Small barracudas usually live in schools, while large fish live alone. They attack at high speed, snatching pieces of flesh with their powerful jaws as they move.

There are 21 species of barracuda, but the most dangerous due to its size is the large barracuda. Barracuda can be attracted to shiny things that vaguely resemble small fish. Some pieces of equipment, such as watches, knives, whistles, or body jewelry, are shiny. These objects may be mistaken for prey by the barracuda. In addition, attacks on people have occurred in muddy or dark water, where the moving arms or legs of a swimmer were mistaken by the barracuda for swimming fish.

Barracuda have very sharp teeth, so damage from such mistaken attacks on humans can be quite serious and leave deep lacerations, including possible damage to the arteries and veins of the limbs. In this case, the bleeding must be stopped as quickly as possible to avoid serious blood loss.

9) Triggerfish

Another fish commonly encountered by divers is the triggerfish or Triggerfish. Triggerfishes family, belongs to the order Pufferfishes sea fish and has about 40 species. Characteristic hallmark The triggerfish has an unusual dorsal fin. It contains three large spines and when the fish is at rest, it is not visible. In case of danger, the triggerfish raises the largest first spine and blocks it by displacing the second one. This locking mechanism makes it impossible to fold the dorsal fin without damaging it. After scaring away the enemy, the fish folds its fin in the reverse order. The fin with spikes looks like a trigger, hence the English name for the triggerfish - triggerfish.

One of the largest representatives of the triggerfish family is the Titan triggerfish or bluefin ballistode. Its length can reach 75cm and weight more than 10kg. It is he who is well known and has a bad reputation among divers, which is completely unfounded. The fish can be extremely aggressive and can seriously injure a person in the water. Fortunately, aggression manifests itself only during the period when the female lays eggs and, together with the male, guards the clutch, which she arranges on the bottom. Until the fry appear, the female remains near the clutch. She mixes the water with her fins, thereby enriching the eggs with oxygen. The protected zone expands from bottom to top in the form of a funnel.

The triggerfish has powerful teeth, designed by nature to break coral and mollusk shells, which easily bite through a wetsuit or fins, so the bites can be very noticeable. Protecting the offspring, the parents fight selflessly until the trespasser is driven out. The main rule for saving from an attacking fish is to move away from the nest in order to leave the area of the dangerous funnel above it. It is more convenient to swim on your back, this way you can constantly control the attacking triggerfish and, if necessary, fight it off with your fins.

I specifically put these guys at the very end of the list, although most people would be happy to put them at the first. They don't need any introduction. Sharks are indeed dangerous marine animals for humans, although their danger is greatly exaggerated. There is a wonderful article by Konstantin Novikov about diving with sharks, it is highly recommended for study. Below I’ll just give a short excerpt from this article about sharks.

Among them there are potentially dangerous ones, such as: great white (Carcharodon carharias), tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), bull (Carcharhinus leucas), long-winged oceanic (Carcharhinus longimanus), giant hammerfish (Sphyrna mokarran). But you need to understand and know that of all the above, the great white, for example, is on the verge of destruction, and meeting a tiger shark or a giant hammerhead fish is not at all easy and this can not be done everywhere. There is a chance of encountering long-winged oceanic and bull sharks. Places where people can encounter large and dangerous sharks are known: South Africa, Guadeloupe, Hawaii, Australia, Fiji, Cuba, India, California. If you plan to dive or spearfish in these regions, be prepared to encounter some of the world's largest predators. It must be remembered that sharks feed on fish and attack humans extremely rarely. How many shark-related incidents do you think are reported per year? About 120. About 8-10 of them are fatal. There is an international ISAF database that records attacks around the world. Surfers are in first place among victims, followed by swimmers and bathers; divers and spearfishers are also sometimes attacked.

It is clear that sharks most often attack people whose behavior resembles those caught in unnatural environment an animal thrashing and making noise on the surface of the water. Attacks can be provoked or unprovoked. In the first case, a person himself induces an attack, for example, by feeding the fish and then swimming in the same place, or an underwater hunter catches a still struggling fish on a cooch, or a curious diver grabs a shark by the snout with the aim of riding it. Unprovoked attacks most often occur where sharks are hunting fish, turtles or seals. Typically in muddy water. A predator mistakes a person for its usual prey. But I repeat that there are very few potentially dangerous large sharks. They rarely attack. Much less common are dogs or deer. By the way, hippos kill about 3,000 people in Africa every year! Can't be compared to sharks, right? But if you look at the statistics of shark catches by humans, the numbers are terrifying. People kill every year - just think about it - a hundred million sharks!!! It’s time for them to fear us, and not the other way around.

Of course, the choice of these 10 animals is subjective. I relied on their danger and the likelihood of meeting. We see triggerfish almost every day; they are common reef fish and cannot be called very dangerous, but the likelihood of encountering them in some places is high. And meeting a blue-ringed octopus or a hammerhead shark is great luck and the dream of many diver-photographers.

The list can be supplemented and expanded.

Anything to add? Or do you have any experience of contact with any of the creatures described?

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

If you ever thought that only land snakes represent death threat for people's lives, it's worth thinking again. Sea snakes also have venom that is extremely dangerous to humans. But it is extremely rare that they release venom when they bite 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. 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. It may also occur renal failure. After 6-12 hours (unless treated), severe hypercalcemia can lead to a heart attack and sometimes death.
9. BARRACUDA

Fast, vicious and capable of causing incredible damage - a terrifying combination for an underwater devil. The barracuda has a long body, like a snake, with sharp, fang-like teeth. Its teeth look and work in the same way as a piranha's teeth. 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 that often. But if a meeting happens, then most likely there will be a bloody clash. Barracudas may well bite off part of a human body. Some barracudas contain poison. Under the influence of the poison, the victim may experience hallucinations and multiple side effects.
8. MUREN

Moray eels are most often found in the deep ocean. They avoid contact with humans whenever possible and are considered relatively shy creatures.
However, if there is a real threat, moray eels may show that they are not the ones to play with. A moray eel bite can cause an infected wound because their mouth contains a huge amount of bacteria. Moray eels have poor eyesight and rely heavily on their keen sense of smell. Many divers have lost fingers while attempting to hand feed.
7. FISH-STONE

This small fish species looks unusual. The fish is like a stone, which helps camouflage itself from predators. Unfortunately, anyone who accidentally steps on the fish will encounter sharp spines that can easily pierce bare feet. In most cases, the stonefish stings when it is stepped on and less often when it is lifted.
Stonefish can sting not only in water, but also on land, as they can survive 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 the respiratory system 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 it should not be underestimated. The stingray is usually calm, but can sometimes cause serious harm with its sharp tail.
The end of a stingray's tail can sever arteries. The tail contains poison that is extremely dangerous for mammals. Contact with the stringer from the action of the poison causes injury, pain, swelling, and muscle cramps. And then infection from bacteria and fungi may occur. Although the wound is extremely painful, it is not life-threatening until the stingray hits vital organs.
5. TIGER SHARK

The great shark has become famous for having the widest range of foods 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 is quite impressive, 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 people.
Sharks rarely attack people, but tiger sharks account for a large percentage of fatal attacks. Thus, they are one of 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 convey optimism, but speaks of merciless cruelty. The great white shark is easily recognized by its size. It reaches up to six meters in length and can weigh 3324 kg. Another one distinctive feature Sharks are that they attack their prey from below with their mouths wide open and their razor-sharp teeth inflicting 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 fatal attacks by great white sharks on humans.
3. SEA CROCODILE

Always be aware of salty waters. Crocodiles attack when least expected. Saltwater crocodiles are known to have a bite force 10 times greater than that of a great white shark. Unlike sharks, crocodiles can walk on land.
Like most crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles not picky when choosing food. They select prey based on availability. However, previously saltwater crocodiles killed thousands of people every year. Most cases remain unreported.
During World War II, saltwater crocodiles are known to have eaten more than 400 retreating Japanese soldiers. The soldiers were crossing a river in which there were thousands of crocodiles.
2. BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS

Despite its small size, the octopus contains poison that can kill 26 adult men within a few minutes. Their bites are small and often painless. Many victims do not even realize they have been bitten until respiratory depression and paralysis sets in.
Poisoning can lead to nausea, respiratory arrest, heart attack and often complete paralysis. If treatment is not timely, death sometimes occurs. Considering the fact that an antidote for the bite of blue-ringed octopuses has not yet been created, they are one of the most dangerous animals for humans.
1. CUBOMEDUSA

When it comes to dangers at sea, size doesn't matter. Box jellyfish contain 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 spot jellyfish because of their transparency before they harm them.

Candidate of Naval Sciences, Professor V. DYGALO.

Rear Admiral Viktor Ananyevich Dygalo is a man who was born by the sea, and then gave it most of his life. In 1944, as an eighteen-year-old boy, he took part in hostilities on ships of the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1945 - in the Victory Parade. Then there was twenty years of service on submarines, command of a division, which included the K-129 missile submarine that tragically died in March 1968 off the Hawaiian Islands. The experienced sailor traveled all the seas and oceans, called at the ports of Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa and Europe, and 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 of what was seen are reflected in the article about those inhabitants of the ocean that should be feared.

Science and life // Illustrations

When people talk about the dangers that the ocean poses, the first thing that comes to mind is sharks. The mere mention of them evokes fear; the image of a giant man-eating shark from the famous American film “Jaws”, filmed in the early 1970s based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, immediately appears before your eyes.

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

Most dangerous marine animals are found among small, often inconspicuous or, conversely, very bright and colorful marine inhabitants. These seemingly harmless creatures produce powerful, sometimes deadly, poisons. Scientists count about 500 species of poisonous fish, 93 species of poisonous coelenterates, 91 species of mollusks, 26 species of echinoderms. But don't give in to fear. Poisonous marine animals usually infect a person in self-defense when he disturbs them or causes them pain with a careless movement.

One of the most poisonous and also the ugliest sea animals is the stone fish. It is also called tubercle or wart. 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 stone fish is covered with tubercles and warts, and hard, poisonous spines protrude from the dorsal fin. Typically, warts hide among corals, under rocks, burrow into mud 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 him the spines of its fins, at the base of which there are poisonous glands. Wart poison is extremely dangerous. There are cases where a person died several hours and even minutes after being pricked by its poisonous thorns.

The stonefish is found in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Pacific Islands and northern Australia, where residents 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, 30-40 centimeters long, is painted with bright pink stripes. The main decoration of the lionfish is the long ribbons of the dorsal and pectoral fins. They resemble fans made of ostrich feathers or a lion's mane. Hence another name for lionfish - lionfish. But perhaps its most apt nickname is turkey fish. When she swims slowly, spreading her pectoral and lacy caudal fins like a fan, she truly resembles a turkey striding importantly through a poultry yard. It is in these luxurious fins that sharp poisonous needles lurk. The injection of lionfish, like warts, causes severe pain, from which people lose consciousness or go into a state of shock.

It is believed that the zebra fish is capable of killing 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, Indian Ocean, as well as in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China, Japan and Australia). Approaching a lionfish is dangerous, especially from the side. Reacting to a change in the situation, she turns her dorsal fin towards the troublemaker in order to inflict a poisonous injection on him with lightning speed. Poisoning with lionfish venom is very serious: it is accompanied by convulsions, disruption of the heart, and 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 spines, 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 breathing problems, seizures and even cardiac arrest. The dragon's dorsal spines range from five to seven, each of them is covered with a thin layer of skin, the tip of the spine sticks out from it like a needle. The dragonet is found off the coast of Norway and the British Isles and further south to the Mediterranean Sea and the coast of North Africa. Stingrays, known as the sea cat, also sting their prey with poisonous spines. According to statistics, about 1,500 people suffer from their injections every year in the United States alone. This does not happen because stingrays are particularly aggressive, they simply chose to live in coastal waters over 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 weapon of a sea cat is one or several sharp spines located at the end of a whip-like tail. Even the small half-meter stingray, which lives in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, has a tail spike that reaches 20 centimeters in length, and 3-4-meter stingrays have a 30-centimeter spike on their tail as thick as a person’s leg. The stingray is capable of striking with such force that it can pierce the bottom of the boat with its tail spike.

Sea cat venom is very toxic. It enters the wound with tissue filling the grooves of the spines and immediately affects the cardiovascular system (causing a drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate), poisoning is accompanied by vomiting and intense sweating. Residents of the Pacific Islands, 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 just such an arrow. In West Africa and Ceylon, whips were made from the spiny tails of small stingrays, which were used to punish criminals, and in the Seychelles, such whips were kept to intimidate wives. Among sea urchins, which belong to the order Echinodermata, which includes about 600 species of marine animals, some are completely harmless, while others are best avoided. Poisonous urchins are distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They most often affect people off the islands of the western Pacific Ocean.

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

The inhabitants of coral reefs pose a great danger to humans - tropical hedgehogs Diadem family. Their body, the size of an apple, is studded with 30-centimeter needles sticking out in all directions, similar to knitting needles. They are very mobile, sensitive and react instantly to irritation. If a shadow suddenly falls on a hedgehog, it immediately points its needles towards danger and puts them together, several at a time, into a sharp, hard peak. Even gloves and wetsuits do not guarantee complete protection from the formidable peaks of the sea urchin. Injury by them causes acute pain, severe shortness of breath, and 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. Toxopneustes is somewhat larger than Diadem. Its body is devoid of needles, but is covered with many so-called pedicillaria - flexible stalks that end in something like tweezers made of two or three calcareous valves. When the hedgehog is calm, its “tweezers” with open flaps slowly sway in the water. But as soon as an unwary animal touches them, the poisonous traps are triggered: the flaps close, and the poison is injected into the body of the captured victim. Toxopneustes holds her down until she is completely paralyzed. If the prisoner still manages to get rid of the hedgehog, he carries away the tweezers that are tightly clinging to the body, which continue to shrink and release poison into the wound for several more hours. A swimmer affected by this poison risks drowning.

In the story “The Lion's Mane,” Arthur Conan Doyle described the mysterious murder of a young teacher: “His back was striped with dark purple welts, as if he had been lashed with a whip of thin wire. MacPherson was apparently tortured and killed with some unusually flexible instrument, because "long, sharp scars curved 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 turned out to be a jellyfish! These inhabitants of the sea seem no more dangerous than 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 ones include, for example, the Cyanea jellyfish, or the Lion's mane (the killer from the Conan Doyle story). The diameter of the bell-shaped body of this giant reaches 2.5 meters or more, and the poisonous tentacles collected in eight bundles (each bundle has one and a half hundred threads) are 30 meters! The elongated tentacles of Cyanea resemble an unusually beautiful crimson train, but when they pull up and wriggle, they become like balls of tangled hair or, as Conan Doyle writes, a lion's mane. These jellyfish are widespread in the northern Pacific, Atlantic and Baltic Seas. 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 very small - no more than a snout. Its dome is like a bell with four red-brown folds in the form of a cross on the concave side. For this reason, Gonyonema is called the cross. It is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean: in the Sea of Japan - near Vladivostok, in Olga Bay, 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 crossfish lives in shallow water in thickets of sea grass. It attaches to plants with suckers and lies in wait for prey. A Gonionema burn feels similar to a nettle burn, but unlike it, it entails a serious illness with sharp pain in the lower back and joints, shortness of breath, a dry uncontrollable cough, nausea, severe thirst, numbness in 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 pain and discomfort may recur for about a month.

Sometimes invasions of crosses take on the dimensions of a natural disaster. They appeared several times 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 countless flock of little crosses approached the beaches. More than a thousand people suffered from them then. In the summer of 1970, in just one day there, 1,360 people received burns from the touch of a cross, of which 116 had to be hospitalized.

Box jellyfish, named for their slightly rounded cubic bell shape, are also poisonous. In the lower corners of the cube, this jellyfish has four outgrowths - the so-called arms. Each "hand" is divided into several "fingers" ending in long, thin tentacles. The most poisonous of the box jellyfish and probably the deadliest of all known sea creatures is the sea wasp. The danger of contact with these small (no more than 20 centimeters in diameter) translucent jellyfish is great, since they are difficult to notice 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 prefer shallow, wind-protected coves with a sandy bottom, and in calm weather they approach 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 dotted with a thousand deadly stings, a person can die in a matter of seconds. Over 25 years, about 60 people died from sea wasp burns near the state of Queensland (Australia), while only thirteen became victims of sharks.

Floating physalia pose a great danger to people. Many attribute them to 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 “obtain” food, others “digest” it, others “hold the line,” the fourth are “responsible” for the offspring. Connected by common life activity, they form a single organism.

Physalia stay 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 down from the pneumatophore, to which several hundred polyps are attached, performing different functions. The tentacles of the polyps go 20-30 meters deep. Along their entire length they are dotted with stinging (venom-bearing) 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 Mediterranean Sea. Similar species of physalia live off the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of southern Japan. The Portuguese man-of-war got its name from its 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 ridge, and the whole thing shimmers with blue, violet, purple flowers, and gently silvers. Physalia's swim bladder is only 30 centimeters in size and looks like a beautiful rubber cap. Anyone who tries to fish it out of the water may get burned. Yuri Senkevich experienced it himself 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 twice, I grabbed it,” Sienkevich later recalled, “and roared in pain, frantically began to wash my fingers with sea water, but the sticky mucus did not lag behind. An attempt to wash off the mucus with soap was also unsuccessful. My hands burned and ached, my fingers bent with difficulty. Spraying anesthetic medicine from a special spray bottle relieved the pain for a few minutes, but it immediately returned with new strength. The fingers could no longer bend, 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 .

Gigantic bivalve mollusk Tridacna is also called the killer clam. The weight of this sea monster reaches 250 kilograms (there are even 430-kilogram specimens), and the length of the shell is about one and a half meters. And although not a single reliable case of death has been recorded, experienced divers assure that a tridacna can clamp a person in the shell flaps, as if in a vice. So pearl divers and scuba divers stay away from it. Of the mollusks, the most dangerous are the so-called cones. They got their name from their almost regular conical shape. These poisonous fish-eating mollusks can actually kill a person. They inject with a sharp spike, which they push into a slot at the narrow end of the shell. The spike ends in a curved barb, like a harpoon. Inside the thorn there is a channel from the poisonous gland, through which very strong poison is injected into the wound. A sting from a cone mollusk causes acute pain, numbness of the affected area and other parts of the body, then respiratory paralysis and paralysis may occur. of cardio-vascular system. According to statistics, one out of three, or even two cases of being pricked by a cone thorn ends in death. True, all these cases occurred due to 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 cone clam bites, 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 a variety of 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, according to many, are coral reefs. Cirrus, branched, spherical corals are a feast of colors. Among them there are bright green “shrubs” and thickets of orange-yellow “trees,” pink, gray, lilac “grass,” yellowish-ocher “mushrooms” with inverted caps and brown “cauliflower” with a blue tinge.

For a long time, corals were considered plants. Only in the 19th century were they finally classified as part of the animal world. By the way, the corals that are exhibited in museums, used in jewelry and for interior decoration, do not look like animals at all - it is just their calcareous skeleton. The basis of coral is made up of polyps - marine invertebrate animals measuring 1-1.5 millimeters or a little more (depending on the species).

As soon as it is born, the baby polyp begins to build a cell house in which it spends its entire life. Micro-houses of polyps are grouped into colonies, the same “trees”, “shrubs”, “mushrooms”... When hungry, the polyp sticks out tentacles with many stinging cells from the “house”. The smallest animals that make up the plankton encounter the tentacles of the polyp, which paralyzes the victim and sends it into the mouth. Despite their microscopic size, the stinging cells of polyps have a very complex structure. Inside the cell there is a capsule filled with poison. The outer end of the capsule is concave and looks like a thin spirally twisted tube called a stinging filament. This tube, covered with tiny spines directed backwards, resembles a miniature harpoon. When touched, the stinging thread straightens, the “harpoon” pierces the victim’s body, and the poison passing through it paralyzes the prey.

Poisoned coral harpoons can also injure humans. Dangerous ones include, 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 from the genus Millepora are so beautiful that scuba divers cannot resist the temptation to break off a piece as a souvenir. This can be done without burns and cuts only with canvas or leather gloves and shoes with rubber soles or fins that completely cover the foot. Such precautions will protect not only from burns, but also from cuts. And although wounds received in contact with corals are usually shallow, they take a long time to heal and can even turn into trophic ulcers.

Since ancient times, one of the occupational diseases of divers has been considered “sponge catcher’s disease,” when a burning purple rash and ulcers appear 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 touching not the sponges themselves, but the burning tentacles of the anemones sitting on them, another representative of coral polyps, is dangerous. Sea anemones are large animals up to one meter high with soft tubular bodies lacking a calcareous skeleton. They do not live in colonies, but alone, and are able to travel a short distance in search of shelter. Having chosen a place, sea anemones attach to shells, stones, and dead corals using 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 are distinguished by the same variety - there are purple, brown, snow-white, green, and pale blue anemones. The pink anemone, which likes to perch on its sponges, despite its beauty, is the most dangerous. It is found off the coast of Iceland, Europe, Africa and 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 part of the 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 its amazing beauty and diversity. But in order for a meeting with him to be safe, you need to know sea 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.: Voenizdat, 1984.

Ocean. Collection of the joint venture "Interprint". - M.: 1990.

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

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

21.10.2013

The ocean and its underwater world both frighten and attract. It occupies most of the Earth's surface. And in 2008 the exact date of celebration was determined world day oceans - June 8. So, let's celebrate and protect the living creatures that live there. Among the huge variety of fish, shellfish, turtles and the like, there are species that amaze with their shapes and colors. Their appearance, kills on the spot. I just want to pet them. But their beauty is deceiving. Many of them are dangerous to humans because they have poisonous weapons that are hidden behind an attractive appearance (doesn’t look like earthly life?). The result is a list like this poisonous inhabitants of the seas and oceans.

No. 10. Scorpionfish or sea ruff

They live in the Black and Japanese Seas, as well as in the warm latitudes of the World Ocean. The coloring of these fish is very interesting, and on the body and fins there are shapeless outgrowths with poisonous glands. They swim along the bottom their entire adult life. And the usual place for scorpionfish to be is algae and stones, where they are well camouflaged, thanks to their unusual coloring. Therefore, swimmers and divers may accidentally step on it. For which they can receive painful poisonous injections. Definitely one of the.

No. 9. Lionfish

Indian and Pacific Oceans. Here, among the coral reefs, you can meet lionfish or, as it is also called, zebra fish or lion fish (a very close relative of the scorpionfish). It has a very variegated color and an interesting shape of the body and fins, which is why it has such names. The body has a length from 30 cm to 40 cm. And in the fins, which resemble wings, there are poisonous needles. Poisoning with this poison causes convulsions, disruption of the heart and even gangrene at the injection site.

No. 8. Clam cones

Gastropods and cephalopods are cones. They live on coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Closer to the tropics and subtropics. Currently there are about 500 species. The shells of these mollusks have an almost regular conical shape, which is reflected in their name. And their length is from 60 mm to 200 mm. The color of cone mollusk shells is varied and they are valuable for collectors. A poisonous sting or sting may be inflicted on both sides of the shell if picked up. Acute pain immediately occurs, sensitivity of the affected area is lost, and then paralysis of the respiratory system.

No. 7. Medusa Cyanea

This is the largest type of jellyfish, which is common in northern seas Atlantic and Pacific oceans. An interesting fact is that, according to scientists, cyanea is found in the warm waters of Australia and New Zealand, but is much smaller in size than its northern counterparts. The length of the tentacles of the giant jellyfish is 36 m, and the diameter of the dome is about three meters (all this was in 1870). In cyanea, color is related to size and vice versa. Small jellyfish are orange and flesh-colored. Large ones are pink and purple. It causes very painful burns.

No. 6. Wart or stone fish

This fish (wart) can be found in the shallow waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, in the Red Sea. It is 20 cm long, and really looks a lot like a stone. The entire body is covered with growths, brownish-brown and green in color. On the back there are 13 poisonous spines, one might say, a pebble with poison. But the people of Australia call it a “sea vampire”, probably for a reason. This predator camouflages itself very well. It lies at the bottom, no one will think that danger lurks here. True, it does not attack a person first. But, if you just happen to touch a wart, the reaction will be immediate. The consequences can be, to put it mildly, unpleasant. Without wasting a minute, you need to see a doctor.

No. 5. Blue-ringed octopus

He is called the most beautiful octopus and the most poisonous. Habitat: coastal waters of Australia and Southeast Asia. This poisonous beauty fits easily in the palm of your hand and weighs only 100 grams, with a size of 25 cm. During the day, the mollusk hides in crevices, under stones, and it is very difficult to recognize it. Octopuses have this ability to change their color. And, when it is calm, this mollusk is very easy to confuse with other, absolutely harmless relatives. And when excited, yellow, orange, red colors appear, with blue rings. Feeds on crabs. And this handsome man has a powerful poison that can paralyze 10 people. If an antidote is not administered, a person can die, and the poison acts very quickly.

No. 4. Dogfish or rocktooth

Habitat of this fish: subtropical and tropical seas. And in Russia it “trawls” from Peter the Great Bay to Sakhalin. It can also be found off the coast of Japan, China, and Korea. The dogfish belongs to the pufferfish family and lives at a depth of 100 meters. It grows up to 50 cm in length. This cute little fish is very poisonous. And this poison has a neuroparalytic effect. It is found in the skin and internal organs. There is no antidote yet, and death can occur after eating this fish. It should be noted that among residents of Southeast Asian countries, a dish of pufferfish is considered a delicacy.

No. 3. Sea urchin

The sea urchin belongs to the order of echinoderms, and this includes almost 600 species of these animals. There are poisonous hedgehogs, and not very poisonous ones. The tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans are the location of poisonous relatives. A spherical body, everything is covered with needles, the injection of which causes terrible pain. Coral reefs are inhabited by hedgehogs with spines up to 30 cm long. And off the coast of Japan you come across another hedgehog, which is called a killer. Its body is not covered with needles, but with stalks, at the end of which there are something like tweezers. As soon as you touch them, the doors with poison close.

No. 2. Spiny shark Katran

This is the most common shark Russian seas. In some countries, the katran is called a sea dog. Where can you meet this shark? Western and Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Seas. The body shape of the katran is considered the most perfect. Length from 100 to 225 cm, weight from 8 to 25 kg. It swims very quickly, and mainly at a depth of 100 or 200 meters. Distinctive feature Katrana are spines that are located on the dorsal fins. And these thorns pose a certain danger to humans. You can get hurt and at the same time receive a dose of poison. And finally, teeth. Like all sharks, they are sharp and constantly change throughout their lives.

No. 1. Box jellyfish (sea wasp)

These jellyfish live off the coast of Australia and Indonesia. They swim quite fast - 6 meters per minute and are predators. During the day they are near the bottom, and at night at the surface of the water. They feed mainly on fish and crustaceans. The body shape is similar to a cone or bottle, and the body is transparent. The box jellyfish is also considered a dangerous creature, as it can cause severe damage to humans. True, he never attacks. And it infects a person with its poison, completely by accident. She doesn’t have time to swim away when someone wants to dive. Every year people die from the poison of this jellyfish.

Red Sea- transparent, crystal clear - elemental. The sea is quiet and deep, joyfully calling and quietly whispering, telling old oriental tales. The sea, I am in the transparent emerald-colored depths, the sun refracts its rays on the foamy spray, the sea is in me and I am inside the sea. An endless expanse of water, and down there in the depths there is an amazingly beautiful underwater world, living its own unsolved life, attracting millions of people seeking to know the unknown. Among them there are harmless and aggressive, fearful and poisonous. So who are they? dangerous inhabitants Red Sea? Today we'll talk about them. Let's start with the most harmless ones:

10. Corals They are brightly colored and you just want to touch them, but there is a special reticulated fire coral (Millepora dichotoma) that, although it looks like coral, is not one. Fire corals are hydroid species or polyjellyfish that form large colonies on reefs in tropical waters where there is strong current and plenty of light. They grow very quickly and look like flat bushes with short double branches. Millepores look very picturesque. Bright yellow or brown colors, nice roundness at the end of the branch. You just want to break off a piece as a souvenir, but it is there that the stinging cells (nematocytes) are located, with which the fire coral burns. The burn site does not heal for a long time and brings a lot of discomfort to its owner. It swells, a blister appears and the lymph nodes become very enlarged. It is better to wash such a wound immediately sea water, removing all remnants of coral and treating with vinegar or alcohol, and if necessary, consult a doctor. It is also worth paying attention to sea sponges. Sponges– although these multicellular creatures are primitive, some species, such as Redbeards and Fire Sponges, can cause allergic reactions in the form of a rash. Providing assistance is the same as for a coral burn.

9. Starfish, colorful and so harmless, always attract the interest of divers. Among these species, only one species, “Crown of Thorns” (Acanthaster planci), can actually harm humans. The color scheme of these not small creatures (their length is from 25 to 35 cm, although there are particularly large specimens with a diameter of up to 50 cm) can be very different from gray-blue to brown, from bright orange to poisonous yellow color. Typically, the “Crown of Thorns” has 12–19 rays, and with age their number can increase to 23. The entire body of the star is covered with long poisonous needles up to 3 cm long. The injection can be quite painful and may cause swelling, rash, nausea and bleeding. The first thing to do is to immerse the limb in hot water and apply a bandage to prevent further spread of the poison, then see a doctor.

8 Sea urchins. They look like prickly balls that pierce any neoprene. If you come across a sea urchin, you will experience burning pain, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat at the injection site. First aid, as with a starfish injection: remove the needles, disinfect, keep in hot water and apply a tourniquet, go to the doctor.

7. Clearfin Lionfish belongs to the scorpionfish family (Scorpaenidae) - a majestic and leisurely fish. There are many species of this family, and you can often find fish underwater - the zebra (Common Lionfish) and the Russells Lionfish. These are night hunters who hunt down small fish like a pack of wolves. And they love to swim on the edge of light and shadow. Their bodies are painted with bright stripes, and their luxurious fins hide sharp, poisonous spines. The injections of these insidious creatures cause severe pain, up to anaphylactic shock. A person may experience cramps and rapid heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, numbness, dizziness, diarrhea, and excessive sweating. Some experts claim that lionfish venom is not inferior to cobra venom, although not a single death has been recorded from this creature in official medicine! In any case, it is better to stay away from all representatives of the scorpion family and carefully watch your step.

6. Sea snakes- the name alone is already chilling, and although the venom of sea reptiles is 10 times stronger than its land relative - the cobra, it acts on the human body very slowly. Do not think that sea snakes rush at people at the first opportunity. In fact, they rarely attack them and in most cases they try to swim away from annoying divers. However, if you like to dive in dense underwater thickets, then you may simply not notice the snake there. Only a few hours after the bite may muscle spasms and drooping of the eyelids begin. Apply a tourniquet above the bite site and consult a doctor as soon as possible.

5. Gray reef shark(and you thought we forgot about it?) is the most common type of reef shark in the Red Sea. Usually the gray reef shark lives at depths of up to 270-280 meters. She loves clean water with a strong current. Often lives on the leeward side of the reef. The gray reef shark has an average size of 1.5 to 2.5 meters. The gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) is a curious creature, but unless provoked, it is unlikely to attack. It is easy to anger a shark during the mating season, when it may consider you a competitor. Sharks also do not like camera flashes. The shark expresses its aggression quite clearly; it arches its back, raises its muzzle and lowers its pectoral fins. In this case, you should not hesitate; it is better to leave its territory without fuss, swimming away facing the shark. If it continues to swim towards you, try to dodge to the side when approaching. And although a person is quite a big prey for her, she can cause serious wounds.

You need to provide first aid to the victim slowly, clean the wound, but be careful, the person may experience a painful shock and your actions will cause an even stronger reaction from the victim. The wound may bleed heavily, so it is necessary to stop the bleeding before a doctor appears. To do this, you must use the direct pressure method. A pressure bandage or tourniquet is best. No less effective way It will happen if you simply wrap the limbs in a circular tug. Of course, in an emergency you may not have a tourniquet at hand, but this is exactly what happens in 99% of cases; you can use any available material. This could be a rubber tube, scarf, belt, rope, etc.

After you have tried to stop the bleeding, the wound must be treated. This should be a solution of iodine, potassium permanganate, alcohol, vodka, cologne. If you have a cotton swab or gauze, wet them with one of the solutions and treat the edges of the wound from the outside.

There is no need to pour anything into the wound itself. This will not only increase the already severe pain, but will also damage the tissue, slowing down the healing process. If you were wounded in the stomach, you cannot eat or drink anything. After treatment, a bandage is applied to the abdomen.

4. Moray eels- belong to the eel-shaped ray-finned fish and are always shrouded in secrets and legends. Either the creepy appearance of moray eels or their secrecy prompts our creative consciousness to attach all sorts of evil labels to them. In fact, moray eels are shy and hide in the crevices of reefs. The Red Sea is home to quite a few species of moray eels, for example: Giant moray, Yellowheaded morey, Yellowmouth morey, Undulate morey, Dragon morey, Zebra moray (Zebra morey), White-eyed morey, Peppered morey, Honeycomb morey, Yellow-edged morey, etc. Unfortunately, recently cases have become more frequent when To attract clients, local diving clubs offer divers to hand-feed moray eels. For everyone who values their hands, remember that moray eels see poorly, but they sense meat perfectly and they don’t care whether it’s a piece of food or a diver’s fingers. A hundred people will feed her and everything will be fine, but 101 will pay for everyone. This is not a pet. Moray eels are smart predators and if something gets into their mouth, they practically do not unclench their jaws, digging into their prey with a bulldog grip. If they help you get rid of her grip, urgently disinfect the wound and go to the doctor to treat the wound and head.

We've reached the top three. Let's find out more about them!

3. Stingrays belong to the class of chordates - Elasmobranchii - Cartilaginous fish.

Electric rays (Torpediniformes) range in size from small – 12-15 cm long, to large – up to 2 m long and weighing up to 100 kg. Unlike other rays, electric rays are often brightly colored. On the sides of the head there are paired electrical organs formed by a modified muscle tissue. Animal electricity is condensed in the electrical organs. The discharge is carried out arbitrarily under the influence of brain impulses. A single discharge lasts 0.003-0.05 s, but usually the stingray produces a series quickly next friend after each other 20-30 digits. The discharge voltage can reach from 60 to 300 volts with a current of up to 5 amperes. Such a shake causes paralytic shock, severe pain, swelling, and muscle cramps. The victim of an electric stingray strike must be pulled out of the water, placed in the shade and given peace. Another representative of this species that is dangerous to humans is the stingray (Dasyatidae) which has a wide disc, a powerful tail at the base and a thinning tail at the end. In the middle part of the tail, these creatures have dagger-shaped spines that can grow up to 37 cm long. The tail strike is similar to the attack of a scorpion - the tail bends forward and the stingray delivers a powerful blow with a whip-like movement. The poison, penetrating the wound, causes sharp pain, a drop in blood pressure, tachycardia, vomiting, and paralysis. A thorn that gets into the wound should only be removed surgically, because often it breaks off in the wound and can cause a secondary fungal, bacterial or mixed infection. After the injection, the wound must be cleaned, disinfected, the damaged part of the body should be kept in very hot water (at least 50 C), and then a pressure bandage should be applied and urgently consult a doctor.

2. Cones. Cone clams, the shells from which we listen to the sound of the sea and enjoy memories of vacation, may not be so safe. The marine gastropod hides in its beautiful mother-of-pearl shell and, in case of danger, releases its spine located at the edge of the shell. Their habitat is quite large, including West Side Indo-Pacific region, which includes the Red Sea. All cones are predators and feed on snails, sea worms and even fish. These latter ones are the most dangerous for people. Despite poor vision, the cone has very developed olfactory organs. Burying itself in the sand, it waits for the victim, sensing the approach of prey, and plunges its proboscis into it, in which there are many small teeth - harpoons. Instantly injects toxic poison and paralyzes its victim. The cones have a special poison, which includes 50 different types toxins and has no antidote. The most dangerous of them is the Geographical cone (Conus geographus), which is nocturnal. According to statistics, out of 10 bites, three are fatal. The bite causes severe, increasing pain, convulsions, profuse salivation, difficulty swallowing, gastrointestinal upset, and difficulty speaking. The victim must be urgently hospitalized, and before that, examine the wound, remove the remains of the thorn, treat with alcohol and immobilize the affected part of the body, apply a pressure bandage.

1. The leader of our TOP 10 “The most dangerous inhabitants of the Red Sea”, is…

Stonefish or wartfish(Red Sea Walkman - “Red Sea Pedestrian”) - master of camouflage. Buried in the sand, it can lie motionless on the bottom for hours. It blends in so well with its environment that it is practically impossible to notice it, and it is this camouflage that makes it the winner of our rating “The most dangerous inhabitants of the Red Sea.” Its back can be deadly to humans , because it has a number of spines that release poison. The pain from the injection is so severe that the person wants to cut off his wounded limbs. If the poison enters the vessel, then without rendering medical care, death occurs within 2-3 hours. The main symptoms are pain, shock and death of the limbs, depending on the depth of penetration. Injured people may continue to experience unpleasant symptoms for a long time. By the way, the English name for wart is “pedestrian”. When she gets tired of lying on the bottom, she uses the rays of her pectoral fins to “walk” along the seabed and often leaves noticeable grooves in the sand behind her. When injecting any representatives of scorpionfish, the wound must be washed, disinfected, to neutralize the poison, hold the damaged part of the body in very hot water for half an hour and apply a pressure bandage. After first aid, consult a doctor immediately.

He who is forewarned is forearmed! Your safety is in your hands:

1. Wear special shoes. Neoprene slippers have an affordable price, but they can give you much more - the safety of your feet. But even wearing them, you shouldn’t walk in shallow water on the outside of the reef. Some needles sea creatures very long and can accidentally touch an unprotected part of the body.

2. Do not splash around in puddles during low tide; some types of fish, such as stingrays, can bury themselves in wet sand and wait for the tide.

3. Divers are prohibited from swimming alone, but some daredevils still break the rules. While diving, do not feed the fish or attract their attention with fresh blood. If you cut yourself somewhere or have wounds that may bleed, it is better not to take risks and not swim in the water. If the fish behaves aggressively in the event of an attack, hit it on the head or snout - these are the most vulnerable places; if it feels resistance, it can swim away on its own.

4. Removing any needle spikes from wounds must be done very carefully so that they do not break or crumble further. Take a soft rag or some kind of napkin and carefully remove the foreign object. Even if you were not able to remove everything, limestone needles or thorns dissolve in our body over time and come out of it without consequences. The main thing in such cases is to thoroughly disinfect the wound so that infection does not begin.

5. It would be nice to be able to do artificial respiration and know the basics of first aid for bites, cuts, etc.

6. Be sure to take a first aid kit with you, which should contain ointments such as tetracycline, erythromycin, as well as iodine and brilliant green. In Arab countries, the names of medications are written in Arabic and it is not a fact that they speak English in the pharmacy.

7. Those who like to swim with a mask and snorkel should not swim into unfamiliar areas, it is better to wear short swimming trunks, and a special thin neoprene T-shirt (1 - 1.5 mm will be enough) for protection from sunlight and accidental contact with the poisonous inhabitants of the Red Sea, choose for swimming reefs, so that the depth is at least 2 meters, do not feed, do not pet the fish, do not kiss the fish for selfies, do not break, do not unscrew, do not even touch the corals, and if unforeseen troubles happen to you, save calm down and seek help.

Undersea world red sea beautiful and everything in nature is harmonious. Man discovers the water element to contemplate, enjoy and explore the unknown. Don't kiss moray eels or feed sharks - they're not pets. We are just guests in this world, and we will be polite and reasonable, and then we will not be afraid of any poisonous creatures. Even dives to everyone.