Are cabeezon venomous?

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Flurp
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Are cabeezon venomous?

Post by Flurp »

I’ve been catching a lot of cabs lately, and the last time I caught one, a guy near me said, “Be careful with that sculpin! They have poisonous spikes.”

I thought he was confusing it with a California scorpionfish, but later realized that cabs are a species of sculpin. Maybe he wasn’t confused. So I looked it up, but the internet is telling me everything from “they’re not venomous at all” to “they have a deadly venom in their spines”.

So do I need to be worried about cabezon spikes?
Neuroshima
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Re: Are cabeezon venomous?

Post by Neuroshima »

They're not, but their eggs are poisonous.
OOlicon
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Re: Are cabeezon venomous?

Post by OOlicon »

He's confused, it's a true sculpin, not a poisonous spiked scorpionfish.
Neuroshima
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Re: Are cabeezon venomous?

Post by Neuroshima »

OOlicon wrote: Mon Oct 02, 2023 6:11 pm He's confused, it's a true sculpin, not a poisonous spiked scorpionfish.
Good point. True sculpins, such as cabezon, are from the Cottoidea family, whereas the California Scorpionfish is from the Scorpaenidae family.
Zhao
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Re: Are cabeezon venomous?

Post by Zhao »

I think the spikes on gill plate can be venomous.
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