KARWAR: A spiky fish which washed ashore Ravindranath Tagore beach has puzzled the scientific community at the Department of Marine Biology (DMB) of Karnatak University, Dharwad. “It looks like a mammoth coronavirus; a big ball with thousands of spikes on it.
This happens when it goes defensive against predators. This is called porcupine fish, an extremely rare fish to be seen on shores,” sources said. “Its defensive nature inflates its body with water making a spiky body similar to a porcupine on land,” said Shivakumar Haragi, assistant professor of DMB in KUD.
Scientifically known as ‘Diodon’ (for its two teeth), the fish was found on the beach by Prof Haragi. He said he was surprised to see it on the shore as it is a deep sea fish.
“It thrives among coral reefs and feasts on reef and seagrass beds. It has teeth to crush shells,” he said. “It might probably have been washed ashore by high tides. Since it is a slow swimmer, it could not go back,” he said. The fish has now been preserved at the museum of DBM in Karwar.