Death in the octopus’ garden: Fatal blue-lined octopus envenomations of adult green sea turtles

  • Townsend, Kathy A.
  • Altvater, Jens
  • Thomas, Michael C.
  • Schuyler, Qamar A.
  • Nette, Geoffrey W.
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Publication date
March 2012
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Abstract

The blue-lined octopus contains the powerful neuromuscular blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX), which causes muscle weakness and respiratory failure. is regarded as one of the most venomous marine animals in the world, and multiple human fatalities have been attributed to the octopus. To date, there have been no recorded incidents of an envenomation of a wild animal. Here, we present a newly developed, multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry technique that provides unequivocal evidence for two cases of envenomation of two ~110\ua0kg herbivorous green sea turtles by two tiny cryptic blue-lined octopuses (~4\ua0cm body length). These cases of accidental ingestion provide evidence for the first time of the antipredator effect of TTX and highlight a previo...

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