weever fish Weaverfish Weevers Trachinidae Perciformes poisonous spines dorsal fin gills
Weevers (or Weaverfish) are eight species of fish of family Trachinidae, order Perciformes. They are long (up to 37 cm), mainly brown and have poisonous spines on their first dorsal fin and gills. During the day, weevers bury themselves in sand, just showing their eyes, and snatch prey as it comes past, which consists of shrimps and small fish. Weevers are unusual in not having a swim bladder as do most bony fishes and as a result sink as soon as they stop actively swimming. This fish is used in the recipe of the bouillabaisse. Weevers are sometimes erroneously called 'weaver fish', although the word is unrelated. In fact, the word 'weever' is believed to derive from the Old French word 'wivre', meaning serpent or dragon, from the Latin 'vipera'. It is sometimes also known as the viperfish, although it is not related to the viperfish proper. In Australia, sand perches of the family Mugiloididae are known as weevers. Most human stings are inflicted by the lesser weever which habitually remains buried in sandy areas of shallow water and is thus more likely to come into contact with bathers than other species (such as the greater weever, which prefers deeper water), stings from other species are generally limited to anglers and commercial fishermen. Even very shallow water (sometimes little more than damp sand) may harbour lesser weevers. The vast majority of injuries occur to the foot and are the result of stepping on buried fish, other common sites of injury are the hands and buttocks. Stings are most common in the hours before and after low tide (especially at springs) so one possible precaution is to avoid bathing or paddling at these times. They also increase in frequency during the summer (to a maximum in August) but this is probably the result of the greater number of bathers. The lesser weever can be found from the southern North Sea to the Mediterranean and is common around the south coast of the United Kingdom & Ireland, the Atlantic coast of France
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Photo credit: © 19th era / Alamy / Afripics
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