Top 10 Most Dangerous Fish In The World

An enchanting variety of stunning and exotic creatures lies beneath the surface of the oceans, lakes, and rivers. They are so beautiful that you might find yourself charmed into wanting to be there. But do not be fooled by their deceptive appearances. A select few of these may attack human beings, while others might deliver a dose of poison when handled carelessly or not properly prepared for consumption.

Many of these water bodies around the world hide deadly secrets within their depths. Lurking in places where you would least expect, are seemingly harmless, wonderful-looking creatures, which are in fact deadlier than any that you might encounter up here on the surface.

Here are some of the most dangerous fish found on our planet:

10. Wels Catfish

The Wels catfish is a large freshwater fish native to Central and Eastern Europe. They can reach a length up to 5 meters and weigh over 150 kg. They inhabit warm lakes and rivers throughout continental Europe. The Wels catfishes are very aggressive predators. Their mouth contains lines of the razor-sharp tooth. They mainly feed on fishes, frogs, and water birds. Their huge size and sharp tooth can be a severe threat to humans.

9. Electric Ray

The electric ray is the most common electric animal in the world. They inhabit temperate seas across the world. There are different species of electric rays in the world. The range of electric discharge also varies between the species. The electric shock from marbled electric ray can reach up to 220 volts. The electric rays have kidney-shaped two highly effective electrogenic organs. They can produce and store electricity through muscular contractions.

The electric rays discharge electricity to defend themselves against predators and to catch their prey. Electric rays are usually found on ocean floors, buried in mud or sand. The dark brown coloration of electric rays resembles the ocean floors. It helps them to hide away from potential predators.

8. Lion Fish

The venomous lionfishes are native to Indo-Pacific region. They have showy pectoral fins and poisonous spines. They only have a few natural predators because of threat from their poisonous spines. The venom of lionfishes also can be a danger to humans. The lionfish sting is extremely painful and their venom can cause breathing difficulties and nausea.

7. Electric Eel

This predator fish is known for its enormous electric discharge. Their body contains more than 6,000 special type of cells called electrocytes. These cells can together produce a maximum electric shock of 600 volts. In humans, the attack from electric eels can result in heart failure. The electric eels use their electric discharge power to defend themselves from predators and to stun prey.

6. Piranha

Piranhas are famous for their taste of meat and razor-sharp triangular teeth. They live in South American rivers. Piranha can apply a bite force about 25-30 times its own body weight. In that way, this dangerous predatory fish can even crush large animals in a few minutes.

Piranhas mainly feed on carrion, fish, crustaceans, and seeds. But the hungry piranhas will attack anything in front of them. They hunt in groups to catch a larger prey. It is almost impossible to escape from the group attack of piranhas. The attack from Piranhas on humans are not so rare. There have been a number of reported attacks on humans in the Amazon basin.

5. Bull Shark

Bull sharks are one of the most dangerous sharks that live in warm oceans around the world. The bull sharks are named after their short blunt snout. Unlike other species of sharks the bull sharks known to travel in fresh waters. They have specially adapted kidneys, which help them to survive within fresh waters. This special adaptation makes bull sharks more dangerous than other sharks. Because they can be found in rivers and lakes and the chances of an attack on humans are much higher than from other sharks. There have been 121 reported attacks on a human in total. The bull sharks are very fast and aggressive predators. They mainly feed on turtles, mollusks, birds, crustaceans, and dolphins. But they also have a tendency to attack anything in front of them, even other sharks and humans.

4. Great White Shark

The great white sharks have a fearsome reputation as a killer machine. They are found in coastal temperate waters around the world. There have been reported 403 reported white shark attacks on humans since 1580, 65 of them were fatal attacks. The white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the world. They reach up to a length of 20 feet and weigh between 700-2268 kg. This great predatory fish have more than 300 sharp teeth lined in several rows in the mouth. The white sharks also have an exceptional sense of smell and a special organ to detect the small electromagnetic field emission from the animals.

3. Stone Fish

The stone fishes are one of most deadly fishes in the world. They are found in tropical, marine waters of Indo-Pacific oceans. The stone fishes have 13 sharp dorsal spines that contain extremely poisonous venom. The sting from stone fishes is extremely painful. It causes swelling, difficulty in breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, and paralysis. The venom of stone fishes also can be fatal without proper treatment. The brownish colored stone fishes can be well camouflaged in the ocean floors so the swimmers and scuba divers need to be cautious within their range.

2. Puffer Fish

The puffer fish is the second most poisonous vertebrates in the world. There are 120 different species of pufferfishes in the world. They live in tropical and subtropical ocean waters around the world. Most species of puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin, which 1200 times more poisonous than cyanide. The deadly tetrodotoxin can be found in liver, kidneys, eyes, spikes, and ovaries of a puffer fish.

They expand their body to round shape while facing threats. This trick helps the pufferfishes to cover their body by the poisonous spikes. The puffer fish poison is one of the most deadliest poisons known to human. The strong poison can kill an adult human in a few minutes. Unfortunately, there is no antidote for puffer fish poison. Still, the meat of puffer fish is considered as a special dish in Japan, Korea, and China. In Japan, the puffer fish dish is called as ‘fugu’. It is an extremely expensive dish. Only the certified chefs are allowed to prepare fugu in Japanese restaurants.

1. Box Jelly Fish

The box jellyfish is considered as the most venomous creature on Earth. The box jellyfish venom will affect the heart and the nervous system. The human victims are likely to die of heart failure before reaching the shore. More than 100 people die every year around the world by box jellyfish attack. The box jellyfishes are named after their cube-shaped body, found throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean. They have up to 15 tentacles on each side of their body. These tentacles can reach up to a length of 10 feet and contain more than 5,000 stinging cells. The box jellyfishes can swim at speed of 7.4 kilometers per hour. The six clusters on the four sides of their body also contain a pair of eyes. The box jellyfishes used to wrap around the prey using their long tentacles and immediately trigger their stinging cells.

source: oysterdiving