The Puffer Forum

Dear all,

Does somebody have an idea what kind of red fibrous matter Darwin saw from a Diodon, which I belive is now Chilomycterus antennatus. He mentioned it in 'The Voyage of the Beagle'.

I'm a diver, and doing some research for my blog. I couldn't find anything similar mentioned anywhere. On Facebook I didn't get any answers, so I thought maybe here somebody saw that?

I mean it was Darwin, wouldn't he have said it's blood, or algae, parasites if it was?

Thanks!

I am not aware of any "tint| that would emit from any part of a puffer.

Have also never seen something like that when handling various Diodontids dead and alive including species from the Atlantic.

Thanks for the answers! Could you think of any parasite or algae that appears as red fibrous matter? Are puffed puffers likely to bleed when handled?