Page 33 - Coral Reef Teachers Guide

Coral Reef Teacher’s Guide Life on the Coral Reef

Figure 2-20. (a) Nudibranch,
and (b) spotted trunkfish. (Pho-
tos: Edi Fromenweiler

(a)

(b)

The trunkfish (Figure 2‐20b), which is sometimes deadly, venomous fish in the Indo‐Pacific region. If

called a boxfish, has a hard, boney body or carapace touched, a small amount of its poison can seriously harm

similar to t hat of a t runk, which makes it h ard for pre‐ a diver.
da‐ tors to eat. Some secrete poison from their skin
The octopus and squid, and their relative the cuttlefish,
when under stress. Trunkfish swim slowly, eating small
are also excellent masters at disguise, able to change
ani‐ mals, algae, and sponges.
their body color rapidly to match their sur‐ roundings or
to eject a thick cloud of black ink which acts as a “smoke‐
The stonefish uses more than one method for pro‐ tec‐
screen” to hide their escape. They have a highly devel‐
tion: camouflage to blend in with its environment, and
oped nervous system with a rela‐ tively large brain and
lethal poison in its dorsal spine to avoid being eaten. It
large eyes. These large eyes
is reported that the stonefish is the most
2‐13