DIODON HYSTRIX
AN495
The porcupinefish, or Diodon hystrix, inhabits tropical and subtropical seas. When threatened, it inflates itself with water or air, turning into a near-perfect sphere covered in sharp spines to ward off predators.
Its internal organs contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful venom that makes it potentially deadly — a rather persuasive argument against being eaten.
Once dried, its body preserves this striking shape, frozen in a moment of defense. Displayed within a metal cage, it seems to hover somewhere between nature and artifice.
Its internal organs contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful venom that makes it potentially deadly — a rather persuasive argument against being eaten.
Once dried, its body preserves this striking shape, frozen in a moment of defense. Displayed within a metal cage, it seems to hover somewhere between nature and artifice.
