MARINE TOXINS AND VENOMOUS AND POISONOUS MARINE m
s
257
specialized secretory cells, a venom duct (although this is not a constant
finding), and a structure for delivering the venom. While there haa
been a tendency to employ the term venom apparatus to denote only
the sting, spine, jaw, tooth or fang used by the animal to inject or deliver
its venom, most biologists now use the term in its broader context,
that is, to denote the gland and duct in addition to the sting or fang.
Poisonous animals, as distinguished from venomous animals, have no
such apparatus ; poisoning by these forms usually takes place through
ingestion.
It does not
include that type of poisoning which may occur following ingestion
of fish contaminated by bacterial pathogens. Halstead (1964) haa
divided ichthyotoxic fishes into three subdivisions : (a) Ichthyosarwtoxk
&hes-those
fishes which contain a toxin within their musculature,
viscera or skin, which when ingested produce deleterious effects. This
type of poisoning is generally identified with the kind of fish involved :
elasmobranch, chimaeroid, ciguatera, tetraodon, scombroid, etc. ; it
also includes hallucinatory fish poisoning. (b) lchthyootozic J2he.sthose fishes which produce a toxin that is generally confined to the
gonads. I n these fishes there is a relation between gonadal activity and
the production of toxin. Most members of this subdivision are freshwater species. This group would include those fishes whose roe is
poisonous. (c) lchthyohemotoxic $shes-those fishes which have a toxin
in their blood. Some fresh-water eels and several marine fishes make
up this group.
Fish poisoning is synonymous with ichthyotoxism.
B. History and folklore
Few areas in biology have had their beginnings as steeped in
superstition and myth as have toxinology and the poisonous animals.
The investigation of such complex substances as toxins, often capable
of destroying life by complicated and sometimes undeterminable means,
has by its very nature invited exaggeration, and sometimes pure fantasy.
In early times the consequences of the bites or stings of venomous
animals were often attributed to forces beyond nature, sometimes to
vengeful deities thought to be embodied in the animals. To these early
peoples the effects of venoms were so surprising, varied and violent
that venomous animals and the injuries they inflicted were always
shrouded with much myth and superstition. Even today considerable
folklore about venoms still exists, and this is particularly conspicuous
with respect to the methods of treatment for the injuries inflicted by
venomous animals (Russell, 1961). The task of separating fact from
A.Y.B.-3
N
s
257
specialized secretory cells, a venom duct (although this is not a constant
finding), and a structure for delivering the venom. While there haa
been a tendency to employ the term venom apparatus to denote only
the sting, spine, jaw, tooth or fang used by the animal to inject or deliver
its venom, most biologists now use the term in its broader context,
that is, to denote the gland and duct in addition to the sting or fang.
Poisonous animals, as distinguished from venomous animals, have no
such apparatus ; poisoning by these forms usually takes place through
ingestion.
It does not
include that type of poisoning which may occur following ingestion
of fish contaminated by bacterial pathogens. Halstead (1964) haa
divided ichthyotoxic fishes into three subdivisions : (a) Ichthyosarwtoxk
&hes-those
fishes which contain a toxin within their musculature,
viscera or skin, which when ingested produce deleterious effects. This
type of poisoning is generally identified with the kind of fish involved :
elasmobranch, chimaeroid, ciguatera, tetraodon, scombroid, etc. ; it
also includes hallucinatory fish poisoning. (b) lchthyootozic J2he.sthose fishes which produce a toxin that is generally confined to the
gonads. I n these fishes there is a relation between gonadal activity and
the production of toxin. Most members of this subdivision are freshwater species. This group would include those fishes whose roe is
poisonous. (c) lchthyohemotoxic $shes-those fishes which have a toxin
in their blood. Some fresh-water eels and several marine fishes make
up this group.
Fish poisoning is synonymous with ichthyotoxism.
B. History and folklore
Few areas in biology have had their beginnings as steeped in
superstition and myth as have toxinology and the poisonous animals.
The investigation of such complex substances as toxins, often capable
of destroying life by complicated and sometimes undeterminable means,
has by its very nature invited exaggeration, and sometimes pure fantasy.
In early times the consequences of the bites or stings of venomous
animals were often attributed to forces beyond nature, sometimes to
vengeful deities thought to be embodied in the animals. To these early
peoples the effects of venoms were so surprising, varied and violent
that venomous animals and the injuries they inflicted were always
shrouded with much myth and superstition. Even today considerable
folklore about venoms still exists, and this is particularly conspicuous
with respect to the methods of treatment for the injuries inflicted by
venomous animals (Russell, 1961). The task of separating fact from
A.Y.B.-3
N