Researchers find stonefish are packing hidden 'switchblades'
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 12:00 PM - It's a discovery that scientists are calling a game changer.
Researchers at the University of Kansas have discovered that stonefish -- which are rare and dangerous and live in the coastal waters of the Indo Pacific -- have bony, switch-blade like protrusions in their faces called lachryml sabres.
It's been discovered the fish can flick the blade out when threatened.
And -- to make things even more menacing -- many types of stonefish are extremely venomous, although the sabre is not.
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Scientists say this changes their understanding of the 134 types of stonefish. It's now believed that all of them possess some form of sabre.
"It opens up these ideas of ecological questions. Muscular systems, bone systems, nervous systems all came together to form this. What led to its evolution or use?" William Leo Smith, associate curator and associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology at KU, told CNN.
"Why do we see this accumulation of so many horrible things on one fish?"
One more weird thing: The sabres glow a bright fluorescent green. Smith doesn't think the glow serves a defensive purpose, because the fish usually rely on camouflage.