第 1371 號，共 1 402 號

Valentin's sharpnose puffer

Canthigaster valentini

名字的由來： It is named in honour of Dutch naturalist François Valentijn (1666–1727).1

需要看醫生很少致命，但如果有人吃了牠，要去看醫生。

其他有毒動物

吃了會中毒吃：每樣都來一點有毒（碰或吃會中毒），不是有毒液

對人的危險: 嚴重如果有人吃了牠，要去看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

Valentin's sharpnose puffer is a small reef fish with four black stripes across its back. It lives in warm seas across the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and parts of the Pacific. It is special because its skin holds one of the most potent natural poisons known, which keeps most predators away.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

Tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea, and east to the oceanic islands of the Pacific Ocean.1

太平洋, 印度洋, 紅海, 珊瑚海, 菲律賓海, 南海, 帝汶海與阿拉弗拉海

首頁

It lives on rocky and coral reefs, in lagoons and on the outer reef, down to 55 m. It is active during the day.1

長度

11 cm (4,3 in)1

最高速度

大約 4 km/h（2,5 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It feeds mainly on filamentous green and red algae and on tunicates. It also eats smaller amounts of corals, bryozoans, polychaetes, echinoderms, molluscs and brown and coralline red algae.1

Valentin's sharpnose puffer 的照片 — Valentin's sharpnose puffer。照片：Karelj。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Four distinct black stripes, called saddles, run across its back.1
The head is blue-grey.1
The main body is white, speckled with blue-grey spots.1
The tail and fins show hints of yellow, and a rainbow streak sits behind the eyes.1

常被誤認為： The filefish Paraluteres prionurus has similar colours and sometimes swims in schools with this puffer. It mimics the puffer's appearance for protection, but it is not toxic.1

毒素力量

吃了會中毒

只有被吃下去時才有害。

牠的毒素有什麼作用？

Its skin and other tissues contain tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin, which attacks the nerves. It is one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins and is lethal to many species of fish. This makes the fish unpalatable to predators.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 嚴重如果有人吃了牠，要去看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

It is highly poisonous to eat.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It gulps water to puff its body up to three or four times its normal volume, and its toxic skin deters predators.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紅海珊瑚海南海菲律賓海帝汶海與阿拉弗拉海

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 45 秒內游完一座大游泳池（50 公尺）

Valentin's sharpnose puffer 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？

一個正在游泳的人 大約 3 km/h (1,9 mph)

Valentin's sharpnose puffer 大約 4 km/h (2,5 mph)

奧運游泳選手 大約 8 km/h (5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Its tetrodotoxin is one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins, and it is lethal to many fish.1

A non-toxic filefish, Paraluteres prionurus, has evolved to look like this puffer, which helps it avoid predators.1

Its eggs are unpalatable, so predatory fish rarely eat them, and any swallowed eggs are quickly passed out again. This means the parents need not guard them.1

Juveniles of the grouper Plectropomus laevis also mimic its colours.1

Its eggs, at 0.68 to 0.72 mm across, are among the smallest in the puffer family Tetraodontidae.1

破解迷思

迷思： Pufferfish hold their breath while they puff up.

真相： A 2014 study found that oxygen consumption actually increases while the fish is inflated. Oxygen intake through the gills is almost five times higher than normal.1

給毒液專家

學名: Canthigaster valentini
類群: 其他有毒動物
家人: Tetraodontidae2
排序: Tetraodontiformes
各大洲: 太平洋, 印度洋, 紅海, 珊瑚海, 菲律賓海, 南海, 帝汶海與阿拉弗拉海, 海洋
寶寶: Females lay anywhere between fifteen and over 800 eggs at a time, every four to ten days depending on the season.1
對人的危險: 3 / 5: 嚴重3