One of the defining characteristics of a fish is scales, right? That’s what most people think. Someone forgot to tell that to the stonefish. They’re a very un-fish-like fish.
They look like a stone, they waddle rather than swim and they can live out of the water for over 2 hours. They also have skin not scales, layers of keratinised skin (same stuff as our fingernails).
As we know from our previous post, stonefish attract marine plants to grow on them by lathering themselves in a chemical they produce, which acts like a fertiliser. It’s all a part of their strategy to blend into their environment and let their prey come to them.
But all gardens need maintenance and the deadly one this fish grows is no different.
