« Lionfish spines

Lionfish spines

By Nigel Coles | Published September 16, 2018 | Full size is 620 × 860 pixels

Lionfish have an amazing defense system made up of 18 venomous spines. You can see the grooves in the spines and the orange and black striped sheaf that I pushed back with my pair of tin cutters. The lionfish venom itself is contained in glandular tissues that are located in the grooves of the spines. As the spine enters a predator or human victim, the sheaf is pushed back which allows the venom in the grooves to penetrate the wound.

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