The Destructive Power of the Lionfish | Alien Ocean

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Video Credits:
FWC Saltwater Fishing - Lionfish Removal: Pensacola Pyramids: • Lionfish Removal: Pens...
LakeHickoryScuba - How To De-Spine A Lionfish: • How To De-Spine A Lion...
Albins, M. A., & Lyons, P. J. (2012). Invasive red lionfish Pterois volitans blow directed jets of water at prey fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 448, 1-5.
Sources:
Rizzari, J. R., & Lönnstedt, O. M. (2014). Cooperative hunting and gregarious behaviour in the zebra lionfish, Dendrochirus zebra. Marine Biodiversity, 44(4), 467-468.
Fishelson, L. (1975). Ethology and reproduction of pteroid fishes found in the gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea), especially Dendrochirus brachypterus (Cuvier),(Pteroidae, Teleostei).[Conference paper]. Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica, Napoli.
Galloway, K. A., & Porter, M. E. (2019). Mechanical properties of the venomous spines of Pterois volitans and morphology among lionfish species. Journal of Experimental Biology, 222(6), jeb197905.
Vetrano, S. J., Lebowitz, J. B., & Marcus, S. (2002). Lionfish envenomation. The Journal of emergency medicine, 23(4), 379-382.
Vanden Berghe, E., Martinez, O., & Bailly, N (2004, June 6). Pterois. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from www.marinespec...
US Fish and Wildlife Services (n.d.). Invasive Species. Retrieved October 23, 2022 from www.fws.gov/pr...
Côté, I. M., & Smith, N. S. (2018). The lionfish Pterois sp. invasion: Has the worst‐case scenario come to pass?. Journal of Fish Biology, 92(3), 660-689.
Albins, M. A. (2013). Effects of invasive Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans versus a native predator on Bahamian coral-reef fish communities. Biological Invasions, 15(1), 29-43.
Lönnstedt, O. M., Ferrari, M. C., & Chivers, D. P. (2014). Lionfish predators use flared fin displays to initiate cooperative hunting. Biology letters, 10(6), 20140281.

[@OctopusLady]

EDIT: HEY. ARE YOU ABOUT TO LEAVE A COMMENT EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VENOM AND POISON? Well. Stop. Don't do that. I am now fully aware of the difference between them, as addressed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2GWkKCshNRqb8k Uh oh. Um. Y'all. I-I dunno what happened, but -- hey stop that! -- but there are a bunch of lionfish -- DON'T EAT THAT! THAT'S NOT FOR YOU! -- there are a bunch of lionfish taking over my Patreon right now! Help! Can someone help me get rid of them? www.patreon.com/theoctopuslady OH NO THEY'VE SPREAD TO MY TWITTER ACCOUNT, TOO! AUGH! THEY'RE EATING ALL MY TWEETS! twitter.com/theoctopuslady

[@InfinityOrNone]

You didn't find a name for the lionfish's toxins because their venom is (like that of most venomous creatures I'm familiar with) a complex cocktail of high molecular weight proteins and enzymes. So you can't just list it as a single chemical, and the chemicals themselves have rather long formulae and names, so trying to read off their full names and formulae would be well and truly beyond the ability of any TTS pronunciation aid.

[@ramonsanchez6903]

Lionfish their can't used for naming the toxin we could guess maybe?

[@crusher9z9]

You can in fact eat a king cobra snake venom is usually not poisonous.

[@crusher9z9]

If you have an ulcer it will kill you though.

[@Kai-lg8ib]

FDA calls lionfish toxin ciguatera.

[@alinenakayama6875]

the shark booping the spear animation is so precious

[@blazingtrs6348]

sharks are just fish dogs (literally)

[@cuckoophendula8211]

I also liked the part with shaming the lazy obese shark on the couch

[@Cdre_Satori]

I love the sharks at 14:28 because thats essentially domestication of wolves. Lazy ass predator learns that if he leads dumb monke to the meat, dumb monke will expend energy and share. :D So sharks are seadogs :D And they didn't name the poison because its just for Cuzco.

[@Nilns]

The poison for Kuzco The poison chosen specially to kill Kuzco Kuzco's poison All in favor of naming Lionfish venom Kuzco's poison?

[@BurningSunBloodyMoon]

Very appropriate, since sharks were actually known as "sea dogs" up until the 1500s!

[@Parhel1on]

Oh yeah, it’s all coming together…

[@bib4eto656]

And there are dogfish sharks ... somewhere in the world.

[@cuddlebeargames2883]

My old marine biology teacher was apart of a group of scuba pros that did the whole spearfishing the lionfish thing. She said it made her sad because she knew that it wasn't their fault, just their nature, but she helped out regardless. Never mentioned shark feeding though that would be cool.

[@jamzee_]

My old biology teacher would go off the coast and try net fishing them. And for some dumb reason, one day he took a shotgun with him. He shot fish. I dont know why you would, but he did, and it was funny the way he described it. He apparently shot five of them in the net.

[@neolexiousneolexian6079]

​@@jamzee_ The incompressibility of water and its high speed of sound means that a sudden shock like a nearby bullet impact should basically immediately kill submerged fish, by rupturing their swim bladders and other vital organs. The risk of collateral damage would be high- Ever heard of blast fishing?- But I guess it could be humane if done carefully.

[@jamzee_]

@@neolexiousneolexian6079 he would raise the net and shoot them in it. Or at least thats how he described it.

[@uncroppedsoop]

@@jamzee_ makes a lot more sense because bullets fired through water break after traveling a few feet through it

[@iusethisnameformygoogleacc1013]

Sadly, there's no evidence that sharks 'trained' like that actually eat lionfish on their own later, but there's a lot to support the idea that it habituates sharks to humans and makes them associate humans with food.

[@thewiredfisherman7139]

They dislike the lionfish so much they believe it doesn't deserve the right to have its venom be named

[@AsmodeusDHare]

Perhaps each variety has a different chemical make up but has near identical effects. So instead of tracking Hydrophenicide, Hypefenitaliic acid, ogreonionofide, etc. It's all lionfish venom. (Yes all the toxins I named are randomly made up except for the third. XD

[@timallen7162]

I believe it's because their venom is nearly identical to cobra venom

[@fuckYTIDontWantToUseMyRealName]

@@timallen7162 LOL WHAT? No. Here, I'll just copy-past for you: Lionfish venom is primarily composed of heat-labile proteins and peptides, including neurotoxins, cytotoxins, and enzymes. These toxins are injected into their prey or potential threats through the spines located on their fins. Lionfish venom causes intense pain, swelling, and can lead to systemic symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and muscle weakness. It is not typically fatal to humans unless there is an allergic reaction or secondary complications. On the other hand, cobra venom is a complex mixture of proteins, enzymes, peptides, and other bioactive components. Cobras inject venom through their fangs when biting. Cobra venom contains potent neurotoxins, such as alpha-neurotoxins and cardiotoxins, which affect the nervous system and cardiovascular system. The effects of cobra venom can vary depending on the specific species, but they often include respiratory paralysis, cardiac arrest, and potentially death if not promptly treated.

[@timallen7162]

@@fuckYTIDontWantToUseMyRealName my bad ig the article I read was wrong

[@JackieOwl94]

I hate lion fish purely because it took over my shore in the SE USA.

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

"Invasive species aren't inherently evil, they're just in the wrong place" -David Lodge

[@parmesanzero7678]

The sharks telling the hunters to spear fish for them reminds me of a dog nosing at you when it wants something.

[@anthonytonythegeek5561]

The sharks bumping the spears of the divers is cool, I’d wanna see a vid of some shark species, like the cookie cutters or even the goblin shark or even the rat-fish

[@leaflizard8485]

It’s adorable that Sharks are like “hey dude. Do you mind getting this fish for me? Please and thank you”

[@Mal-Function4]

When I was in Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh at the Ras Mohammed reef, they did something similar to the spearing, they'd give us the choice between a hook for Crown of Thorns sea stars (they eat corals at an alarming rate) or a four-pronged spear very similar to the one in the video,and told us to catch any of the chosen prey it was honestly really interesting how widespread they were... i was mostly there to get the certificates there, and for recreation as well, but the ecology was super interesting, because the local officials weren't yet entirely sure what actually hunts the Lionfish at all (as of 2013) also in more populated areas like Hurghada, the Urchins were fished heavily but their numbers seemed resistant to hunting, similar to lionfish in some areas, by virtue of increased fecundity in surviving sexually mature in case numbers decrease around them (less competition most likely) there was a theory also set up that more targeted hunting in certain areas might cause inbreeding which might leed to infertility down the line, but that was dropped when lionfish populations just moved in to the now vacant lots and bridged the gap to other populations easily... still funny to me that they literally tried to dig a lionfish-fire-trench also, (insert a lionfish singing "how ba-a-a-ad can i be? i'm just doing what comes naturally!")

[@Helius42]

Here in Brazil it is also an invasive species, a theory I also heard is that they came in water that cargo ships use to balance themselves, so when they release the water here they also release this fish that came in unintentionally.

[@Kroggnagch]

I wish you'd cover the flamboyant cuttlefish.. Awesome content, as per usual.

[@umbrellatime]

After some research, apparently in the state of Florida you don’t need a license to hunt lionfish with a spear so as a local I am VERY excited to hopefully go hunting sometime this summer

[@pjyoung191]

okay but sharks asking divers for food is so cute?? they're like little fish dogs, I love them

[@DavidCruickshank]

Your sense of humour is incredible! 😂

[@wrekced]

@Octopus lady: In Thailand, they eat king cobra as a delicacy. They eat the venom sacs too . The venom has an effect on the person who eats it. It causes altered sensations and other bodily changes.

[@TheNewYear75]

your videos are amazing! informative, funny, well paced and edited. Great stuff

[@milkymoogod596]

Octopus wearing scuba diving gear is amazing.

[@PCrailfan3790]

I just found you channel one day and now I’m addicted I love your humor the algorithm works in strange ways

[@paulsomething8]

13:38 I love your honesty here lmao

[@Midnight-7411]

A general rule of thumb for the two different terms for toxic weapons Poison = intended for defence Venom = intended for aggression

[@magic8ball237]

That shark thing was sooo cute

[@SebastianRayner]

Ok but POIVENOISOMOUS? I was cryingggggg 😂😂😂😂

[@lahlybird895]

Actually in day-to-day conversation it is pretty important to tell somebody the difference between poison and venom so that they know what the danger is going to be And yes it is possible to be both poisonous and venomous But also if you ate a king cobra you'd only be in danger if you specifically ate the venom sack for some reason

[@fachridarmayana2518]

The first lionfish was reported in South Florida waters in 1985 with many additional sightings occurring until they were documented as established in the early 2000s.

[@circeus]

Regarding the fossil record, In a lot of cases, you'll have more luck looking at family level. The family in general first appears in the eocene it seems and the published fossil record in general for them does appear restricted, although just the fact that it's younger would mean there would also be less of it in general.

[@nik4520]

You can actually drink many venoms, because they're not poisonous. A lot of snake venoms are often used for novelty cocktails and the like and ritual drinking ceremonies in some cultures

[@jchristHeckYeah]

Poison: If you bite it, you DIE Venom: If it bites you, you DIE

[@iratami]

So from what I can find they may have verrucotoxin which is the venom found in Stonefish. and another variety is pteroisin venom which just means "lionfish venom" ardently sometimes called LTPs "Lionfish toxic proteins" though I can't find a conclusive singular name for said toxin

[@adog8524]

Lil fun fact: in Norwegian, lion fish is called dragefisk or “dragon fish” which is pretty cool. Idk why but it may come from the spines and fins looking like wings. Still idk.

[@isray89]

7:42 I LOLed too hard with that one. (It's funny because it's true. And if I laugh I don't have to feel the full weight of millions of deaths and genocide crushing my soul!... just most of that weight....)

[@QwetzxlClips]

Throwback to when there was a lion fish about a foot away from me, in extremely shallow water, no way to quickly leave, or even to see it without literally having my head at my kneeheight… :D

[@splicer420]

Don't know if anyone has said this or if you will notice this, but the venom name is actually the name of the genus, basically a blanket term. The genus of Pterois have a venom that is literally just called Pterois Venom. It makes sense but also like... why not give it an actual name? Edit: I still couldn't find the molecular structure of it. My guess for that is that the toxin may quickly break down if it is not in the proper conditions, such as in the membrane or when in blood, this would explain why we don't have a structure or scientific name for that type of toxin.

[@GuiSmith]

So I did a ton of googling myself, because I could hardly believe that there aren’t at least some common proteins or chemical components to the Scorpaenidae venoms that have names (and several scorpionfish and stonefish species especially have names for their venom components), but it turns out they vary a lot and lion fish just don’t have any that I can find, let alone most of the rest of Scorpaenidae. In function, many are similar in that they target inflammation responses, are anti-coagulants (meaning they tend to cause continued bleeding), inhibit muscular control, and induce nervous system misfiring, especially in pain receptors. Lion fish generally lack that second effect, and also barely can inhibit muscular control. They skirt by on mostly causing number 4, but don’t knock the fact that they cause a ton of swelling and problems for your lymphatic system. Long story short, I’m wondering if anyone has ever tried to isolate their venom(s). There are several species of lion fish, each with slightly different venomous effects, so I don’t doubt they have multiple venoms. It’d be nice to name at least some of them. But alas, I’m no toxicologist, I’m just a programmer who had interest in biotech for a long time. I doubt these substances could ever be used for much medically, but there are anti-venoms for many of these species so I can’t be sure why they don’t at least have a named type or something.

[@Kodama666]

i just wanna throw it out there lol that venom and poison are actually quite notably different, you could drink an entire wine glass of any venom you choose and be fine, however, there are some animals that are both venomous and poisonous. Yet that still is not because of the same substance, it would be 2 different substances. Lastly generally speaking i think you could say poison is the one u wanna worry about most as a human, i could totally be wrong but most venomous creatures arent designed to kill things as large as people, and even as a backup we have antivenom. there are fringe cases ofc, especially when it comes to things in the ocean or near the ocean

[@youlostthegame.]

Never have I ever seen a greater representation for my anxiety and adhd stream of consciousness than that intro. I feel seen. Lol

[@sprout_gen]

whoa this was so interesting and fun to watch :D

[@upliftothers4599]

I love your pacing so much, this is truely a hidden gem of a chanel, and I will be binging all of your avaliable videos. Thank you to the algorithm gods who brought me here Edit: OH MY GOSH THE SHARK BOOPS ARE SO CUTE

[@miezepups15]

I heard that some fish can eat lion fish because they have a hard upper palate and that's where most of the stinging would take place.

[@moorflower4118]

Haha, I looove the animations!!! And the narration! And the content! Basically I just love it all

[@taliasmith5066]

I love your channel because I know I can always use it as a reliable source:)

[@shadowprince4482]

Want to get their numbers under control? Make them a popular and cheap option for sushi. They'd be gone from non native waters almost overnight.

[@bruhmaster6915]

I got stoned one night and went down a marine biology wormhole and now this is one of my favorite marine biology channels

[@TheK4man]

4:15 - pain in the arse

[@nottrevorallen]

0:53 sir yes sir

[@cyrilio]

Looking forward to see an Easter egg episode.

[@elvastan]

I'm surprised you didn't mention that Atlantic Groupers & Moray Eels have actually learned how to eat lionfish, like the Pacific and Indian Ocean Groupers do in their home range. This could be why their populations in areas where they were first introduced is declining.

[@kadencefunmaker6404]

awesome video! great job on summarizing, not too long but just enough for a sponge like me to absorb information

[@dykesmcgee3136]

my dad was an aquarist when i was a kid. i will never forget the way his hand swelled up after getting stung by a lion fish. it looked like a cartoon glove…

[@Fullchristainname]

I, to, was curious about what’s in lionfish venom, and reading between the lines, it looks like there’s several different compounds that each have different effects in their venom, and we haven’t identified all of them yet. From Bédry et al., 2021- “Lionfish venom contains acetylcholine and a neurotoxin that affects neuromuscular transmission (Cohen and Olek 1989), high molecular weight proteins with antigenic characters that may cause systemic reactions (Kizer et al., 1985), and bradykinin effects responsible for the pain, adrenergic and muscarinic effects (disturbances in heart rate and blood pressure), and finally cytotoxic, proinflammatory and prothrombotic effects (Church and Hodgson, 2002). “ and “soluble toxic extract derived from spine tissue of the lionfish (Pterois volitans) decreased heart rate and force of contraction in isolated clam and frog hearts. These actions were due to the presence of micromolar concentrations of acetylcholine in the extract. Toxicity was retained after hydrolysis of acetylcholine by exogenous acetylcholinesterase, but heart function was no longer affected.” Basically we haven’t identified the neurotoxin(s?) in lionfish yet, but we know it has acetylcholine in it which causes slowed heart rate because when we remove the acetylcholine the cardiac symptoms disappeared.

[@HidekiShinichi]

The whole venom vs poison is important. Its important because those are two different concepts. You can play with pufferfish, you can swat it, pet it, let it bite you and its poison is not going to hurt you untill you decide to eat it. You touch the lionfish the wrong way and you have a problem. You can eat cobra, some people do, and its not dangerous. You let it bite you and you have a problem. The difference is significant and as important as difference between fungi and plants. Some people think they are the same, they arent. Period.

[@markhaumann8490]

Do one on vacuita aswell

[@DustyHoney]

I’m pretty sure most venom is OK to eat. I’m a vegetarian so the only venomous thing I eat is stinging nettle. Stinging nettle have venomous spines covering their leaves, but if you crush the spines the venom can’t hurt you. Generally venom is only effective when you’re injected with it. I’ve also seen both people and meerkats eat scorpions with the tail intact.

[@Draedoon]

Scorpaenidae (Or the lionfish and its extant cousins) was a relatively recent species from the early paleogene right?

[@0x_Proxxy]

On whether we trained sharks or sharks trained us: We trained sharks to learn that we will hunt lionfish for them.

[@ColinTimmins]

I love your work! =] 😊

[@joshuatamilarasan9724]

I love these

[@elenafriese891]

I know cobra venom is supposed to be relatively safe to drink provided you don't have a sore or something?

[@Crystalised24]

I love search&destroy sharks that refuse to destroy 😭 to be fair to them, it’s easier for everyone involved to kill it with a spear instead of the sharks trying to shove their big dumb heads into the lionfish’s hidey hole. They’re not lazy, they’re efficient!!

[@bensneb6822]

The venom has a name, but anyone foolish enough to speak it aloud are stricken with it. STRICKEN!

[@sadpetko]

I love yor videos so much

[@FeeshUnofficial]

Lionfish are called coral devils here in the Netherlands

[@ironhead2008]

I imagine sharks and other fish are immune to the Lionfish's venom because the enzymes in it likely have a poor affinity to the relevant targets. This kind of thing isn't exactly uncommon, especially amongst relatively (yes I know sharks and bony fish aren't all that closely related, but they're closer to each other than they are to say a whale or a sea snake) closely related species, think of how some snakes are immune to snake venom. It also makes me wonder if cannibalism is all that common in Lionfish.

[@eleventhprimarch5303]

Remember folks... lionfish are both incredibly invasive, but also delicious!

[@th1nk_outside]

In German we only have one word for poisenous and venomous (giftig) , so discussing this distiction seems pretty unnecessary to me. But i perfectly understand it since we have many words for things that english has only one word for

[@VanMorbir]

Conclusion: "Desereved to be learned about" and "deserved to be speared " aren't mutually exclusive.

[@salt-emoji]

Christmas tree worms are..... Weird.

[@AntheanCeilliers]

I would give anything to become a professional shark feeder

[@pyroman7196]

I always thought you were Canadian, but your thanksgiving is backwards, I didn’t suspect you were American :o neat

[@spudbud124]

So venom versus poison. It’s all about what it’s used for, venom is used for hunting killing and all of that stuff for organisms heterotophic consumption. Whereas poison is a defense mechanism, strictly used to keep the animal alive.

[@aheadmandalay3677]

Do snakes are venomous but venom is put through the skin and into the blood vessels which is the only way to get venom into the body and the lionfish is very similar

[@ZomBeeNature]

There is a snake that is both poisonous and venomous. It would be interesting to have a lionfish in an aquarium.

[@mistorWhiskers]

Lion fish are edible, it's actually encouraged to help slow down their spread

[@NeoStef]

The amount of colonization jokes on this video sends me.

[@abominablesnowman876]

so if its venomous, it will not be necessarily poisonous? If puffer fish poisonous, you can hug it without getting venom? HELP!

[@PieRatKings]

When you said Hey Google it hijacked my phone XD Twice

[@hope1575]

My guess is that there are multiple chemical components to lionfish venom, so it hasn't gotten a single name in common usage because it's not one single toxin.

[@fuzzydude64]

To be fair to the sharks being lazy about hunting them, it's kind of our fault lionfish are there to begin with.

[@trilobite3120]

Like the oscellated turkeyfish.

[@anthonywolf943]

Toxin: Lionfish venom contains acetylcholine and a neurotoxin that affects neuromuscular transmission (Cohen and Olek 1989). Ah they just call it Lionfish Venom.....

[@mingisfixon6452]

Didnt know land octopi eat lionfish

[@GretchZ]

These are great for sushi!

[@crickett821]

so i’m allergic to bee sting venom and i’ve always been told that bee stings and lionfish have the same venom, so i’m supposedly “allergic to both” can someone fact check me on that?

[@CHERRYSAP]

I FOUND THE LIONFISH FOSSIL-

[@lordwillibur438]

Venom is actually surprisingly not poisonous, I'm not at all saying you should test it because I do not trust anyone that much, but yeah, venom's generally not posionous

[@yeetowiwisilly]

was not expecting a Radiohead reference in this

[@asherager6689]

Hey I got curious about snakes being poisonous as well as venomous so I did some research and it turns out you can drink snake venom and be alright mostly. Their venom is proteins and enzymes that interact directly with your blood. Drinking it exposes it to hcl in the stomach which denatures most proteins. I’m sure you could still absorb some through mucous membranes, but not a whole lot. Hope you found it interesting too !

[@globalgeode4363]

litterally was just about to comment on this, it's so funny how crazy dangerous proteins can be broken down so easy!

[@voyagingwithvincent1994]

It only affects the person who is drinking it if it encounters an open wound leading to the circulatory system.

[@Rathmun]

Theoretically you could also have some substance which only becomes toxic when exposed to HCL, which would make it usable as a poison but not as a venom. I don't _know_ of any, but it should be possible.

[@rydz656]

Not really.

[@quitethenon-binaryfuss8596]

YO THAT IS SO WILD WTH ???

[@crsmith6226]

I know this is old but @3:50 , no. You can indeed drink many snake venoms and be fine, UNLESS you have an ulcer. The venom needs to physically enter the bloodstream and your body is generally very good at keeping things from the gut away from the blood for this reason.

[@jasminecluney1769]

Thank you! Also there are actual venomous AND poisonous snakes. There is the Japanese grass snake that has both its own form of mild venom AND feeds on poisonous toads in the wild and can repurpose the toads venom for self defense. Basically they have a gland that sequesters the toad poison and they can excrete it on their neck behind their head when threatened! Very cool!

[@acceptingcat]

Yes thank you

[@raeraebadfingers]

Huh, I did not know that. That's super cool.

[@SonsOfSauron]

To my understanding venom needs to make it into your bloodstream directly to have an effect, so you could drink snake venom and probably be okay, but as Clint's Reptiles says: that's the worst way to find out you have a stomach ulcer. (Poison, on the other hand, needs to be ingested or absorbed through the skin.)

[@goldensunrayspone]

this is it, the real difference is that poison can be absorbed through tissue and venom needs to be introduced into the bloodstream

[@trit2251]

You can drink venom and it will do mostly nothing depending on the venom. If poison gets past you skin you will have a bad time

[@OlyChickenGuy]

It always amazes me to hear stories about how intelligent and social sharks can be. That bit about leading scuba divers to lionfish to be fed was just too cute.

[@lukewellfire9747]

I can't be the only one who thinks it's so ADORABLE that the sharks just...tap their head against the hunter's spear to lead them to a nearby lion fish they wanna eat. "Tap tap. Hey! Hey there! Come kill this thing for me! NOM NOM"

[@mimisezlol]

Sharks generally don't want to eat people and can be quite cordial given the opportunity. Funfact: apparently tiger sharks, which are notoriously aggressive to humans, can also just have favorite divers. The get jealous if their favorite divers pay attention to other tiger sharks and will shove the other sharks aside. Sounds to me like they just don't fear us, which is the reason why a human raised cheetah is more dangerous than a wild one.

[@lasercraft32]

In the shark's defense... they don't have long pokey spears or opposable thumbs to let them spear the lion fish hiding within the reefs. So I wouldn't say they're _entirely_ lazy... just _somewhat_ lazy.

[@Appletank8]

so instead of training sharks to hunt lion fish, we should train them to use a spear

[@AlexIsOffline]

I've said it before but I'll say it again, your channel has become one of my favorites. Pacing, editing, script, everything is just 👌 I've been looking forward to this video so much! Lionfish were one of my favorites as a kid, only losing to Clownfish. I think a part of my love for them is definitey because of their name, as in Swedish they're actually called "Dragonfish"!

[@mokseee]

In Germany we call them Firefish. I remember seeing one in Egypt when I was a kid, who was obsessed with diving. I knew that it was like somewhat poisonous, but that was it, so I didn't really hesitate to swim around it and get really close to have a good look at it

[@spacecowboycade]

I dont know if someone has said this, and you probably don't care. But if I recall correctly, the difference between venomous and poisonous is like you said, however the reason eating a venomous animal wouldn't kill you is because venom needs to enter the bloodstream directly rather than being digested. However it could still get in by like a cut in your mouth or ulcers in your stomach or some other open sore.

[@virilcyril8954]

thank you

[@SmallAngryNerd]

Sharks poking humans and leading them to lionfish is so cute. It's like a dog begging for treats.

[@SerpenTxxxLion]

The most likely reason for lionfish to be present in the mediterranean sea is the Suez canal. We built a new route linking the indian ocean to the mediterranean sea and they just used it along the boats. Random fact : lionfish are called "rascasses volantes" in French - from the old patois word "rascas" (in Occitan) - which roughly translates to "flying tenacious fish" or "flying scabby fish".

[@PyroTurk]

The part about the sharks really makes me think about the domestication of cats.

[@kylepessell1350]

I remember doing an entire paper on Lionfish (their venom specifically) in my freshman year of college for an introductory biology class. I did end up finding the structure and name of the molecule but I also found it was rather complicated.

[@johnalexchr]

Will you be sharing the name too?

[@WhaleSteaks]

​@@johnalexchr Google says this, ciguatoxin, is the toxin used by Lionfish. It could be wrong though

[@YuniraFerinia]

@@johnalexchrdef not ciguatoxin

[@jmassagetherapist6773]

What's the name?

[@YuniraFerinia]

@@jmassagetherapist6773 still doesn’t have a name, some say it’s Ciguatoxin but nope.

[@MarkN51]

From what little research I was able to do (not being a biologist, pharmacologist, or toxicologist), the impression I got is that you couldn't find the name of the toxin because nobody's figured out what it is yet. I found some references to papers describing bits and pieces of what the toxin does, and some possible mechanisms for part of it, which sounds like they're still putting the puzzle together.

[@sachsoup]

THOSE SHARKS OMG... i love sharks sm just imagine sharks booping ur spear and then lead u to lionfish... that's so cute :(((