So, with all the publicity around tegu (maybe a few dozen sightings over the years) and hyperventilating about Burmese pythons (a grand total of fifty killed over 30 days by 1500 "hunters" during the Great Python Hunt) apparently we've been ignoring a much greater threat just because it's not something the average person could even imagine bumping into during their normal routine.
Behold the lionfish.
| (Noticeably less than life-size) |
Native to southeast Asia a concern on the Atlantic coast for over a decade, voracious omnivores and destroyers of reefs, with no natural predators in this part of the world, they have now rounded Key West and are working their way up the Gulf coast and across the Caribbean. They have short gestation periods and spawn year round.Their quills contain a toxin. As a result, Goliath groupers have been found with lionfish in their stomachs but it's not something they will eat on a regular basis.
People, fortunately, will eat just about anything.
If the lionfish eat everything else in the water, they may be the only seafood we have left to eat.
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