第 1399 號，共 1 402 號

Toxic zoanthid

Palythoa toxica

名字的由來： Its Hawaiian name, limu-make-o-Hana, means 'seaweed of death from Hana', after the Hana district of Maui where it was first found.1

可能致命不要碰不治療的話可能致命。如果有人碰了或吃了牠，要趕快求救。

其他有毒動物

皮膚裡有毒有毒（碰或吃會中毒），不是有毒液

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

Palythoa toxica is a small, crust-like sea animal, called a zoanthid, that grows on rocks. It lives in Hawaii and is special because it is the species from which the very poisonous substance palytoxin was first discovered and isolated.1

有毒還是有毒液？有毒液的動物會用咬或螫把毒液注入身體。有毒的動物則是碰到或吃下去會有害。這種動物是有毒的（碰或吃會中毒）。

分布在

Native to Hawaii; has been found sporadically throughout the state, first discovered on Maui1

太平洋, 印度洋, 珊瑚海, 菲律賓海, 南海

首頁

It was first found in a shallow rock pool about 25 cm deep that received fresh water when heavy rain fell, so it can live in water of changing salt levels. It has also been sold to keepers of reef aquariums, where people have been poisoned by handling it carelessly.1

長度

1,5 cm (0,6 in)3

一般成體大小

最高速度

大約 0,5 km/h（0,31 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

Toxic zoanthid 的照片 — Toxic zoanthid。照片：[1]。 CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

It grows as a flat, encrusting layer over rock.1
It has a firm, tough outer covering.1
Its polyps are partly sunk into a cushiony mat that spreads across the rock and contains sand grains and bits of debris.1
Each polyp has a broad mouth disc with a fringe of tentacles.1
Its colour varies but is usually cream, grey or pale brown.1

毒素力量

皮膚裡有毒

牠的皮膚有毒。碰、舔或吃牠都很危險。

牠的毒素有什麼作用？

It is not venomous in the sense of injecting venom with a bite or sting. It contains palytoxin, one of the most poisonous substances known.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

Palytoxin is one of the most poisonous substances known, and people have been poisoned by handling this animal in reef aquariums.1

如果有人碰了或吃了牠

如果有人吃了牠，或吃了之後出現症狀：立刻打緊急電話或打給毒物諮詢中心。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果你碰了或吃了牠：不要揉眼睛或摸嘴巴，把手洗乾淨，並且就醫。

牠不是想來抓你。牠的毒只是為了不讓別的動物吃掉牠。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲太平洋印度洋珊瑚海南海菲律賓海

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

比你的小指頭還短

Toxic zoanthid 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻花園蝸牛 大約 0,05 km/h (0,03 mph)

Toxic zoanthid 大約 0,5 km/h (0,31 mph)

一個正在游泳的人 大約 3 km/h (1,9 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Early Hawaiians used this animal to poison the tips of their weapons, and a legend says warriors could break a taboo and dip their spear tips into its pool when under severe threat.1

In 1961 researchers took specimens from the pool despite local advice, and the laboratories of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology on Coconut Island were destroyed by fire on that same day.1

Palythoa toxica is the species in which palytoxin was first discovered and first isolated.1

Unlike a related species, P. toxica is equally toxic all year round rather than changing with the seasons.1

Palytoxin has also been found in other Palythoa species, some algae, and certain crabs and fish, and it has been suggested that a dinoflagellate in the genus Ostreopsis produces the toxin.1