3. Family Tetraodontidae 121 species Small to medium in size (can reach up to 39 inches) Most abundant in the tropics Ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air) Second most poisonous vertebrate in the world Poison is a defense for their slow movement

4. Some puffers also produce a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin in their internal organs Ovaries Liver Smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin Trace amounts in muscle tissue and in its blood The poison is made by bacteria May actually enter the fish by consuming prey that already possess the poison Puffer Fish are eaten by lizardfish and tiger sharks

5. Poisoning Usually from eating incorrectly prepared puffer soup (fugu poisoning) Causes deadening of the tongue and lips, dizziness, and vomiting Followed by numbness and prickling over the body, rapid heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and muscle paralysis Death results from suffocation as the diaphragm muscles are paralyzed

7. Clade Craniata, Class Myxini (doesn’t belong in Subphylum Vertebrata!) Only have a skull and no vertebral column Average 18 in. long (eel-like body) Known on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean as far north as Norway

8. No true jaws Has eye spots Reach depths up to 4,000 feet Have the ability to change sexes from season to season Females lay about 30 sticky, tough eggs

9. Feeding Six or eight barbels around the mouth and a single nostril Attach and bore a hole in their ‘prey’ Then devour them from the inside out! Feed this way with dead/dying animals

10. SLIME! Slime Video Exude copious quantities of a slime (mucus) Have enough slime to fill a gallon milk jug! Slime expands into a gelatinous and sticky goo when combined with water Can also tie themselves into an overhand knot