Venoms; venomous animals and antivenomous serum-therapeutics . ous species found in the seas of thenorthern hemisphere, in Europe, Asia, and America. In France the species of Cottus are generally called chabots(bullheads or millers thumbs), chaboisseaux (sea-scorpions), orcara7nassons. They are abundant on the coast of Normandy,and some of them (river bullheads) live in fresh water; theydo not exceed 25 cm. in length. They have a liking for holes VENOMS IX THE ANIMAL SEEIES 293 in rocks, and fishermen are afraid of being stung by them(fig. 102). Their poison-apparatus resembles that of the Wee
Venoms; venomous animals and antivenomous serum-therapeutics . ous species found in the seas of thenorthern hemisphere, in Europe, Asia, and America. In France the species of Cottus are generally called chabots(bullheads or millers thumbs), chaboisseaux (sea-scorpions), orcara7nassons. They are abundant on the coast of Normandy,and some of them (river bullheads) live in fresh water; theydo not exceed 25 cm. in length. They have a liking for holes VENOMS IX THE ANIMAL SEEIES 293 in rocks, and fishermen are afraid of being stung by them(fig. 102). Their poison-apparatus resembles that of the Weevers, but isless developed. It is situated in the culs-de-sac formed by theopercular spines. The culs-de-sac are lined with cells which pro-duce a toxic secretion only during the spawning season, fromNovember to the end of January. This fact explains how it is thatthe species of Cottus are declared by certain fishermen to be veryvenomous, while others say that they are absolutely harmless. The genera Scorpcena, Pterois and Pelor also belong to thesame Fig. 103.—Sccripcsna grandicornis (Caribbean Sea). (After Savtschenko.) In ScorpcBua the body is clothed with scales, and the head islarge, slightly compressed, armed with spines, and has a bare pitbehind ; the single dorsal fin is provided with eleven spiny rays,and there are seven branchiostegal rays. ScorjJCByia grandicornis(fig. 103), found in the Caribbean Sea, is from 30 to 50 cm. inlength, and has the back red and the eyes and belly yellow;Scorpcena diaholus (fig. 104), which occurs in the Indian Ocean 294 VENOMS and Tropical Pacific, is red and brown, obliquely striped withwhite and brown; a third species, Scorpcena porcus {Scorphietruie), of smaller size, is met with in the venom of the latter has been studied by A. Briot,^ whosectioned the dorsal and opercular spines, and macerated themeither in physiological saline solution, or in glycerine; he thentested the toxicity of these macerations on
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