The Puffer Fish

Ian Fleming’s evil globefish – also known as a puffer, blowfish, swellfish, or, in Japanese, fugu – is one of the most mysterious creatures of the sea. It is perhaps the world’s most deadly fish, yet in Japan the honorable fugu is the perfect example of gourmet dining. With its lazy, almost feeble way of swimming, the puffer fish gives no hint of its deadly nature. Here is no shark knifing through the water, with gleaming jaws agape; but the poison hidden in the puffer’s entrails makes it fearsome indeed. About 100 species of puffers in several closely related families can be found throughout the world. Their most obvious characteristic is their ability to change from a reasonable fish shape into a sphere two or three times larger. When frightened, excited, or annoyed, they gulp water, or even air, into a sac on the belly. It swells inside their tough, elastic skin, like an inner tube inside a tire, so as to discourage predators or intimidate rivals. When the fish feels safe, it squirts out the water or releases the air, deflating to its normal shape.