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of fish in the diet and the degree of toxicity. There is also a tendency
for the larger fish of a species to be more toxic than the smaller fish of
the same species. I n most cases the flesh is less toxic than the viscera.
The liver is usually the most poisonous part of the fish, although the
testes may be equally as toxic.
FIG. 7. Some marine fishes responsible for ciguatera poisoning. Top to bottom : Lutjanua
bohar, red snapper ; Acanthurus triostegus, surgeonfish ; Alutera scripta, filefish ;
Balistoides niger, triggerfish. (From Hiyama, 1943.)
It appears certain that this form of poisoning is associated with the
food-chain relationship of the fish. It is suspected that the poison
originates in a benthonic organism, from which it is transferred directly
t o herbivorous fishes and indirectly to carnivorous. While both herbi-