O peixe-sapo venenoso Thalassophryne nattereri (niquim ou miquim): relato de 43 acidentes provocados em pescadores de Salinópolis (Pará) e Aracaju (Sergipe), Brasil

• Autor(a) principal: Haddad Junior, Vidal
• Data de Publicação: 2003
• Outros Autores: Pardal, Pedro Pereira Oliveira, Cardoso, João Luiz Costa, Martins, Itamar Alves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/30723
• topic: Venomous fishes; Toadfishes; Thalassophryne nattereri; Venomous marine animals

Fishes of family Batrachoididae are responsible for great number of injuries in fishermen in North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The genus Thalassophryne presents various venomous species of fishes found in the Brazilian coast, T. nattereri being the most common of them. The venom is ejected through two hollow spines on the dorsal fin and two on pre-opercular regions, which present a venomous gland in the base and can be erected or depressed by the fish. The manifestations of the envenoming were intense local pain, edema and erythema in 43 patients observed in Salinópolis (Pará State) and Aracaju (Sergipe State). There were no systemic manifestations, but necrosis was detected in eight and bacterial infection in ten injured fishermen. The circumstances of the contacts and therapeutic aspects are discussed. Envenoming by the genus Thalassophryne is important and frequent and should be considered of moderate severity grade, since there are not the excruciating pain or the massive local necrosis provoked by scorpionfishes (Scorpaena) or stingrays injuries nor the systemic manifestations that are the most important marker of severe envenoming.