The amazing and unique world of the underwater kingdom has always aroused interest and excited the imagination of eager researchers. Indeed, what forms and manifestations of life can you not see in the thickness of the

Bottom fish - a dangerous marine life

One of the most interesting specimens of the inhabitants of the seas washing the shores of the European, African, and South American continents - sea ​​dragon chick, snake fish or scorpion. Poisonous fish average size and weighing about 300 grams, has a laterally flattened elongated body shape, an elongated lower jaw, equipped with small, but quite sharp teeth, bright brown-yellow with dark intermittent spots and stripes on the back and light milky belly.

Sea dragons stand in the first row with the most dangerous fish temperate latitudes. Their name absolutely matches their appearance. The dragon-like appearance and very high danger of the fish is given by the presence of characteristic fins with spines that have deep grooves, at the base of which there are glands containing poison. Spines located on the gill covers and in the first dorsal fin - formidable weapon, which the sea dragon uses in any danger or when hunting. The venom of this fish is extremely dangerous and acts like a snake, as its second name - snake fish - reminds.

Features of behavior

Sea dragons prefer quiet backwaters in shallow bays with a muddy or sandy bottom. Burying itself up to its eyes in soft soil, the fish lies calmly, but jumps out with lightning speed as soon as it sees the approaching prey. The dragonet is most active at dusk; it is not visible during the day, and given that it loves the same places as bathers, the danger of meeting it only increases. Even just walking in shallow water, a person risks getting a portion of poison from the fins if he accidentally steps on a sea dragon.

Lifestyle

IN summer period sea ​​dragons stay within up to 20 m from sea level, and spend the winter in the depths, feeding there on fry, small crustaceans, shrimp and crabs. The fish reaches sexual maturity at the age of three. Spawning continues throughout the summer - from June to October. During this time, female dragonets are capable of laying up to 73 thousand eggs. On average, its size ranges from 15 to 20 cm, but there are also giants in its family: specimens with a length of 35 - 45 cm are known.

The sea dragon, the photo of which is presented, has no industrial significance, but amateur fishermen often catch this fish, the meat of which is very tasty. When catching a dragon, you need to be very careful. Even a dead snake can sting.

Precautions

The poisonous sea dragon can cause serious harm, and so that your vacation does not turn into troubles and health problems, scuba diving enthusiasts, swimmers and tourists should get acquainted with appearance these fish and take the necessary precautions:

• you should not try to grab the fish with unprotected hands;
• You should not search underwater caves; a sea dragon may be hiding in them, a photo of which should be studied first in order to get acquainted with the potential danger;
• when walking on the coast at low tide, you need to watch your step, as these fish do not always have time to leave with the water, they often remain in the wet sand and can be easily stepped on;
• Having found a dead dragon, you should not touch it with your hands - the poison persists for some time;
• If a fisherman catches a dragon, the poisonous spines should be cut off immediately.

First aid for injection

If you still fail to protect yourself from an attack by a snake fish, you must, without wasting time, provide the necessary assistance to the victim. The prick of a thorn causes quite painful sensations: the sharp stabbing pains that arise are very painful, a febrile state accompanied by a rise in temperature can last from a day to a week. There is an opinion that the poison is destroyed if, immediately after the bite, a 5% solution of potassium permanganate is injected into the wound with a syringe. This measure reduces or prevents inflammation and eases pain, but a first aid kit is not always at hand.

Experienced fishermen who encounter fin stings immediately apply a tourniquet above the affected area and suck out the poison, spitting it out. It is advisable to put ice on the injection site and go to the nearest medical facility. Unfortunately, in this case it is impossible to do without hospitalization. There is no specific antidote for the poison that affects sea dragons. Severe pain cannot be relieved even by morphine, so first aid is very important.

Depending on the depth of the wound and the degree of assistance provided, you will need different times to restore health: sometimes it takes several days, sometimes more than one month.

Black Sea dragon

An analogue of the famous one in Russia - one of eight species that have long and successfully mastered the expanses of the Black Sea, sometimes appearing in

Kerch Strait. It has a low, flattened body, with small, tightly fitting scales. The head is decorated with spines, the most dangerous of which are located on the gills. The dragon's two dorsal fins, like a magnificent crest, beautiful and dangerous, are at the same time a serious weapon and a calling card.

Non-industrial, but incredibly tasty, sea dragon is caught by amateur fishermen. The Black Sea stores large reserves of this amazing - small owner of a formidable weapon.

31.08.2015

The sea dragon (Trachinus draco) is the most poisonous fish not only on the Black Sea, but also on the entire European coast. She lives in the waters of the Mediterranean, Black Seas, and the European coast. Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Chile, the western and northern coasts of Africa.

The sea dragon has a snake-like, laterally flattened elongated body (up to 40 cm, but usually 15-20 cm), for which it is also called snake fish. Its back is mottled, yellowish-brown, and by the intensity of its torn stripes one can distinguish this representative from a harmless bull. The lateral fins of the fish are greenish, and the edge of its caudal fin is almost black.

Its poisonous glands are located at the base of the needles of the first dorsal fin and the spines of the gill covers, the edges of which are also painted black. If you step on a fish or pick it up, the sharp needles of the fins pierce deep into the tissue, causing burning pain, causing loss of consciousness and even leaving you speechless.

The poison spreads quickly, giving the affected area and nearby tissues a bluish color, forming swelling. If a person is not provided with timely medical care, then, in extreme cases, tissue death or paralysis of the affected part of the body may occur; judging by literary sources, there have been cases of deaths.

Sometimes symptoms of poisoning include delirium, nausea, convulsions, and heart failure. Due to the toxicity of its poison, the fish is also called the sea scorpion. If a sea dragon is struck by a thorn, the victim needs to apply a tourniquet or twist from a scarf above the site of the injury, as close to the wound as possible. The tourniquet should not be held for more than 15 minutes.

Then you need to wash the wound and remove the remaining fish spines from it. Since this poison contains protein, in order to destroy it, you need to place the injection site in hot water with sodium sulfate dissolved in it. Novocaine blockade is used for pain relief. It is imperative to take the victim to a medical facility.

The sea dragon is a predatory inhabitant of loose bottom soil. He is a master of camouflage and hunts from ambush. Burying itself in the sand or silt so that only part of its back, mouth, fin spines and eyes, prudently located on the top of its huge head, are visible, it prepares to throw. With a well-aimed swift lunge he grabs the big mouth small fish or crustaceans.

The sea dragon's jaws are equipped with sharp small teeth. The soft dorsal and anal fins of the fish are so large that they stretch the entire length of the body. Favorite places fish habitats are shallow bays and bays with a loose muddy or sandy bottom. They are most often found from May to November at a depth of about 20 meters; in other months the fish go to greater depths.

Despite the fact that this animal has poisonous glands, its meat is edible and tasty. It is eaten dried, fried and boiled. However, we must not forget that even a dead dragon’s spines with poisonous glands remain dangerous. Therefore, before cooking, you need to trim or trim the spines of the first dorsal fin and gill covers of the fish.

Sea dragon [VIDEO]

sea ​​dragon- a predatory bottom sea fish, the only representative of the dragon family of the perciformes order, inhabiting the coastal waters of the Black Sea. You can meet him at sandy shallows, and far from the coastline, at depths of up to 70 meters. The sea dragon has an elongated snake-like body than in general outline resembles a Black Sea goby. But the sea dragon, unlike the goby, has a more variegated color, somewhat similar to a pike...

Amateur fishermen do not purposefully catch this fish - they are caught only from time to time. It has no commercial significance, although the meat has a very pleasant taste. The body length of the sea dragon ranges from 10 to 45 centimeters. He gains weight up to 300 grams. Among fishermen, due to its unique body and ability to deliver “deadly blows,” this fish goes by several dissonant names: “snake” and “scorpion.”

When and where to catch a sea dragon

Sea dragons can be found in bycatch from spring to winter cold. Specimens pleasing to the eye of fishermen with their abundance and size can be caught at any time during this period. IN this year Great activity of this dangerous fish was observed at the end of July, we caught whole families of 5-6 of them in one cast, and the capture of a giant dragon measuring 45 centimeters in size occurred in mid-November.

If some thrill-seeking fisherman really wants to flirt with danger, then you can find a sea dragon in areas with a sandy or muddy bottom. Usually it buries itself in such places in silt or sand and waits for small bottom fish and crustaceans darting back and forth.

Tackle for catching sea dragon

A sea dragon is almost never caught with a float rod, except when a careless fisherman, having set the wrong depth on the float, literally drags his hooks along the bottom.

Donka is the tackle that the sea dragon most often ends up using. You can catch smarid, weasel, scorpionfish or red mullet, but if you have a fresh shrimp on your hook, you have a good chance of catching a sea dragon. He is not interested in the quality of the gear. This fish clings even to large size hooks No. 4-6. He is also not bothered by the thickness of the fishing line with a diameter of 0.16-0.22 millimeters, intended for fishing bluefish.

Sea Dragon Bait

The sea dragon doesn’t particularly pick at bait. The favorite delicacy for this fish is shrimp, but it rarely refuses freshly caught fish and raw squid, cut into small slices.

Bait and bait are optional. In addition to the sea dragon’s weakness for baits of animal origin, it is just as easily seduced by artificial baits located on hooks: beads, sequins or edible rubber. The sea dragon is not very picky and therefore is enough even for completely empty hooks.

Safety precautions when catching sea dragon

Since the sea dragon is an exclusively random fish in catches, there is no need to talk about any specific nuances of fishing, biting and fishing for it, but I will dwell in more detail on removing it from the water and safety precautions before sending it to the bucket.

Among the Black Sea fishermen there is a saying in this regard: “It is not the one who found, hooked and pulled out the dragon who is good, but the one who correctly removed it and prepared it for consumption.”

When a sea dragon rises from the depths, when about half a meter remains to the surface of the water, it begins to vigorously try to get off the hook. Having swallowed a little air, it calms down slightly, but at the same time it threateningly spreads all its fins. This is where you need to concentrate as much as possible and concentrate all your attention on the fish.

To remove a sea dragon from a hook, any more or less experienced fisherman will always have a surgical clamp, pliers, a knife and scissors in his fishing box.

The process of unhooking itself is not difficult, but it requires, I repeat once again, attention so that the fluttering fish does not accidentally prick you in unprotected areas of the body. I usually press the sea dragon with my foot through a rag to the side of the boat and force a clamp into its mouth. Squeezing the clamp as far as it will go, thereby firmly fixing the fish in your left hand, right hand Using scissors, I cut off all the spines of the first dorsal fin and two spines on the gill covers, one on each side. I always throw the removed thorns and thorns overboard, since the poison in the parts of the fish’s body amputated in this way retains its strength for several days.

That's all the action. Fish in this form is ready for further safe transportation and immediate cutting before consumption.

By the way, despite the fact that the sea dragon has poisonous glands, its meat is edible and very tasty in any form: fried, boiled, and especially if it is dried.

How to avoid sad consequences
A lot of passions surround this stunningly beautiful fish, which occupies one of the first places in the ranking of poisonous fish of the Black Sea. In various sources and from the words of local fishermen, I have heard quite a lot about sad stories with sea dragons. Unfortunately, meetings with him, albeit fleeting, if qualified medical care is not provided on time, can lead to unpleasant consequences: tumors, vomiting, general ailments and weakness, and there have also been cases of death.

To your favorite hobby does not turn into a complete nightmare, you only need to follow a few elementary rules and precautions: firstly, before going to places unknown to you, first familiarize yourself with their inhabitants; secondly, avoid any contact not only with the caught, but also with the dead sea dragon; thirdly, if you accidentally prick yourself with its needles, then try to suck out the poison with your mouth along with the blood from the wound for ten minutes, not forgetting to quickly spit it out, and immediately take all measures to deliver the victim to the nearest medical facility.

The dragon scares everyone!
And finally, so as not to completely discourage you from sea fishing, I’ll tell you a funny sign associated with catching a sea dragon. The fact is that when this evil predator is caught, all fishermen immediately try to leave the fishing spot. Apparently, this is due to the fact that not only humans, but also other inhabitants of the sea are afraid of the sea dragon, and therefore, in order not to once again risk their health and senseless waste of time in a place where there are no fish, they make their legs.

Sea dragons are a genus of predatory fish from the order Perciformes. There are only five species of sea dragons in the world fauna. They live in coastal waters European Atlantic, in the Black and Mediterranean seas.

In summer, the sea dragon is found at a depth of up to 20 m, but it winters at a much greater depth. The fish is especially active at dusk.

All species have the same type of structure. The gill covers and first dorsal fin have spines covered with skin. Only their tips protrude upward. The thorns have deep grooves, at the base of which there are poisonous glands. According to ichthyologists, in the absence of a duct inside the spine, the poison from the exploded glandular poison-producing cells flows along the lateral grooves into the wound.

How to prevent sea dragon pricking

Divers, tourists simply swimming or walking along the shore, and even fishermen can encounter the sea dragon. Therefore, it is worth remembering a number of recommendations that will reduce the likelihood of contact with him.

Firstly, do not under any circumstances try to grab the baby dragon with your unprotected hand. Do not search underwater caves with your hands, as you can run into a hidden predator in them.

Secondly, be careful when walking on the seabed. Often, a baby dragon waits for its prey, having previously buried itself in the sand. At the same time, only the top of its head with a mouth and eyes, as well as a black dorsal fin, are visible from the outside. When danger arises, the fish spreads its poisonous spines and quickly attacks the enemy.

Thirdly, look carefully at your feet when walking barefoot seashore during low tide. It happens that the water, as it recedes, leaves behind sea dragons in the wet sand, which are very easy to step on.

Fourth, remain vigilant when sea fishing. The sea dragon looks somewhat like an ordinary goby. In addition, he even bites on bait used for catching gobies. Therefore, if you catch a dragon, first kill it, and only then pull it into the boat and very carefully release the hook.

Fifthly, never touch even a dead dragon with your bare hands. Remember, the poison remains dangerous for several days after the death of the fish.

Sixth, if you want to eat the dragon, put on thick canvas gloves or mittens, take scissors and trim the first dorsal fin and spines from the gill covers.

What are the consequences of contact with a sea dragon?

The consequences of the injury depend on the depth of the injection, the size of the fish, and the toxicity of the poison.

In turn, the toxicity of the poison depends not only on the age and sex of the dragon, but also on the conditions of its development and nutrition, habitat and season. It is worth noting here that contact with fish is most dangerous in the spring, during the spawning period.

A sting from a poisonous spine, whether gill or fin, results in the release of a few drops of blood and causes instant excruciating pain, which can last for more than a day without proper treatment. Starting in the injection wound, the pain quickly spreads to the entire affected limb. Its peak occurs in half an hour. The pain is so strong that the victim rushes about and screams. There were cases when victims attempted to jump out of the boat. It is noteworthy that even the administration of morphine does not lead to significant relief.

Painful sensations are accompanied by:

• severe inflammation
• pronounced swelling,
• in some cases, loss of consciousness,
• signs of heart failure,
• fever,
• headache,
• convulsions,
• vomiting,
• breathing disorder.

Among other things, a secondary infection may develop in the wound, which will be supplemented by tissue necrosis, as well as a sluggish ulcer.

Contact with a sea dragon can lead to paralysis of the limbs. And in the most severe cases it is even possible fatal outcome. Recovery is slow. It can take several days or several months.

What not to do when injecting a sea dragon

• It is not recommended to apply a tourniquet to the pricked limb. This will only worsen the victim’s well-being and contribute to the development of complications.
• You should also not make cuts on the wound to allow the poison to escape. This will only further injure the victim.
• You cannot burn the pricked area with matches, cigarettes, coals from a fire, or any other hot objects. The reasons are discussed in the previous paragraphs.
• It is forbidden to drink alcohol, as it dilates blood vessels and thereby promotes faster spread and absorption of poison.

What first aid can be provided if you come into contact with a sea dragon?

Poisoning with the venom of a sea dragon is fraught with many sad consequences, so in this case it is necessary to immediately seek medical help. However, if this is not possible or on the way to the hospital, you can take the following emergency measures.

1. First of all, you should carefully remove the remaining fragments of the thorn that may have remained in the tissues.

2. To remove the poison, during the first 10 minutes after the injection, suck out the contents of small puncture wounds, spitting periodically. This procedure is permitted only if there are no sucking bleeding wounds, caries, stomatitis and other damage in the oral cavity through which the poison can enter the circulatory system.

3. To reduce the concentration of poison and relieve pain, it is also necessary to quickly rinse the wound with large quantity sea ​​water.

4. Among other things, doctors recommend taking hot baths. A pressure bandage should be applied above the wound, and the affected limb should be immersed in hot water for 30-60 minutes, adding 3% potassium permanganate. The water temperature should be slightly below the burn threshold. The bandage must be loosened every 10 minutes and tightened again.

5. In the absence hot water you can simply treat the damaged area with potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide.

7. You can take a painkiller to relieve pain.

6. Finally, apply an antiseptic bandage to the wound and ensure immobility of the pricked limb.

Interesting facts about sea dragons and their pricks

• The sea dragon is considered the most dangerous poisonous fish Black and Mediterranean seas.
• The venom of the sea dragon acts as a neurotoxin and hemotoxin, like the venoms of some snakes.
• In Bulgaria, about 100 cases of vacationers being affected by sea dragons are recorded in one season.

Poisonous sea ​​fish inhabit not only warm waters tropical seas. In the coastal waters of the European Atlantic, as well as in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, very dangerous representative family of ray-finned fish - large sea dragon, or large sea ​​scorpion, or snake (lat. Trachinus draco). So let's get to know it sea ​​creature closer.

Black Sea sea dragon

The little dragon, although beautiful, is very dangerous fish- being the only representative of dragons living in the waters of the Black Sea.

Its elongated, low body is covered with dense small scales. The head is decorated with spines, the largest of which are on the gill covers.

The first and shortest of the two dorsal fins has 6 to 7 rays. The dragon's body is gray or beige with a pattern of oblique stripes on the sides. The body length is up to 20 cm, although there are individuals up to 40-45 cm in length.

These fish lead a sedentary lifestyle, hiding at the bottom, they wait for their potential prey: fish or crustaceans.

The Black Sea dragon is found throughout the Black Sea, but can sometimes be found in the Kerch Strait. It moves closer to the shore from May to November during the breeding season, but without rising to a depth of more than twenty meters.

The main danger lies in its poisonous glands located at the base of the spines on the gill covers and the spines of the dorsal fin. You can get a dose of poison by accidentally stepping on a dragon or catching it on a hook.

This fish has very tasty meat, especially when dried. And if you want to feast on it, then first of all, get rid of the poisonous spines and thorns in the gills and dorsal fins. After removing them, you can cook the fish in any way.

Precautions

Fishermen are the main risk group, especially beginners, because... Not all of them know this poisonous representative of the Black Sea fauna by sight. The sea dragon should not be touched with bare hands; experienced fishermen recommend carefully muffling it with some object and throwing it into the sea, or sacrificing part of the fishing line with a hook.

A person pricked with poisonous thorns feels a strong burning pain that quickly spreads throughout the entire limb. In the place where the injection was made, cyanosis and swelling appear, and in the most severe cases - convulsions, heart failure and even paralysis lower limb. Symptoms gradually increase after the injection over several hours.

What to do

After the injection, it is necessary to apply a tourniquet above the wound, but for no more than 15 minutes, then rinse the wound, carefully remove any remaining thorns or thorns, and call emergency medical assistance.

You can also disinfect the injection site hot water, with the addition of magnesium sulfate, which destroys the poison. The pain is relieved by novocaine blockade.

The main thing is to provide the victim with the necessary medical care in a timely manner, otherwise he may face very serious consequences, even death.

These are the problems that can arise when you get to know this cute and harmless fish at first glance. Therefore, if you encounter a Black Sea sea dragon, be extremely careful!