MARINE TOXINS AND VENOMOUS AND POISONOUS MARINE ANIMALS
365
this finding may be responsible for Dr. Flecker’s belief that stonefish
stings are not always dangerous.
( b ) Chemistry and toxicology. Bottard (1889) described the fresh
venom of Synanceja as clear and bluish in color, but noted that it
becomes opalescent and cloudy after the fish dies. It could be coagulated
by nitric acid, alcohol, ammonium and heat. It was weakly acid. On
microscopic examination he found the venom to appear like an albuminous liquid, containing large refractile round cells with a single, small
centrally-placed nucleus. Bottard also conducted a number of pharmacological studies on the venom. He aspirated the venom from the
dorsal fin glands and injected it into frogs, dogs and himself. In frogs
the toxin produced paralysis in the hind legs, and death within several
hours. I n a dog the venom caused vocalization, incontinence, tremors,
and evidence of anorexia and thirst. Necrosis developed at the injection
site. On injecting a drop of venom into his own leg Bottard experienced
intense pain and localized parasthesia. Necrosis developed at the site
of injection, and 10 years later he still had a scar a t the site.
Duhig and Jones (1928a,b), and Duhig (1929) found that subcutaneous injections of s. TLorridu venom into guinea pigs produced
irritability, tremors, respiratory distress, convulsions, paralysis and
loss of corneal reflexes. These investigators also demonstrated that the
venom had a strong hemolytic effect in vitro, although Wiener’s work
indicates that this activity is probably not very significant, and was not
observed in vivo (Wiener, 1963).
Gail and Rageau (1956) injected the contents of one dorsal spine
gland from S. verrucosa into a frog, which died in extensor paralysis at
about 4 h. A rat envenomated with the dorsal spines of the same
species, defecated, exhibited respiratory difficulties, became hypothermic, developed spasmatic contractions over the abdomen and
marked weakness in the hind legs. Death occurred at approximately
7 h ; at autopsy blood was found in the thorax. A second rat experienced similar signs when the contents of two venom glands were
injected subcutaneously. A hematoma developed at the injection site.
The animal died at approximately 16 h. A dog receiving the contents
from five glands developed agonal signs within 45 sec: vocalization,
trismus, convulsions, relaxation of the sphincters, respiratory distress
and loss of consciousness. Death occurred within 1 min of the injection,
and was attributed to cardiac collapse and cessation of respirations.
An excellent series of studies on the venom of S. horrida has
recently been conducted by Saunders and his colleagues (Saunders,
1959a,b, 1960; Saunders and TokBs, 1961; Saunders et al., 1962).
365
this finding may be responsible for Dr. Flecker’s belief that stonefish
stings are not always dangerous.
( b ) Chemistry and toxicology. Bottard (1889) described the fresh
venom of Synanceja as clear and bluish in color, but noted that it
becomes opalescent and cloudy after the fish dies. It could be coagulated
by nitric acid, alcohol, ammonium and heat. It was weakly acid. On
microscopic examination he found the venom to appear like an albuminous liquid, containing large refractile round cells with a single, small
centrally-placed nucleus. Bottard also conducted a number of pharmacological studies on the venom. He aspirated the venom from the
dorsal fin glands and injected it into frogs, dogs and himself. In frogs
the toxin produced paralysis in the hind legs, and death within several
hours. I n a dog the venom caused vocalization, incontinence, tremors,
and evidence of anorexia and thirst. Necrosis developed at the injection
site. On injecting a drop of venom into his own leg Bottard experienced
intense pain and localized parasthesia. Necrosis developed at the site
of injection, and 10 years later he still had a scar a t the site.
Duhig and Jones (1928a,b), and Duhig (1929) found that subcutaneous injections of s. TLorridu venom into guinea pigs produced
irritability, tremors, respiratory distress, convulsions, paralysis and
loss of corneal reflexes. These investigators also demonstrated that the
venom had a strong hemolytic effect in vitro, although Wiener’s work
indicates that this activity is probably not very significant, and was not
observed in vivo (Wiener, 1963).
Gail and Rageau (1956) injected the contents of one dorsal spine
gland from S. verrucosa into a frog, which died in extensor paralysis at
about 4 h. A rat envenomated with the dorsal spines of the same
species, defecated, exhibited respiratory difficulties, became hypothermic, developed spasmatic contractions over the abdomen and
marked weakness in the hind legs. Death occurred at approximately
7 h ; at autopsy blood was found in the thorax. A second rat experienced similar signs when the contents of two venom glands were
injected subcutaneously. A hematoma developed at the injection site.
The animal died at approximately 16 h. A dog receiving the contents
from five glands developed agonal signs within 45 sec: vocalization,
trismus, convulsions, relaxation of the sphincters, respiratory distress
and loss of consciousness. Death occurred within 1 min of the injection,
and was attributed to cardiac collapse and cessation of respirations.
An excellent series of studies on the venom of S. horrida has
recently been conducted by Saunders and his colleagues (Saunders,
1959a,b, 1960; Saunders and TokBs, 1961; Saunders et al., 1962).