Rarely-seen and poisonous starry toadfish washing up at Clontarf
RARELY seen starry toadfish — which can be fatal if consumed — have been washing up on a Sydney beach this past week and at least one expert is baffled as to why.
Manly
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PUFFER fish have been mysteriously stranding themselves on a beach in Middle Harbour.
The speckled specimens, known as starry toadfish, starry toado, mainstay puffer or snowflake puffer, have been swimming onto land in Sandy Bay, Clontarf.
Resident Cathy Kell photographed the fish for six days this week as they struggled in the shallows.
The subtropical starry toados, which are poisonous to eat and can be fatal if consumed, grow to about 40cm and puff up into a ball if they are in danger.
The Australian Museum’s fish collections manager Mark McGrouther said he could not explain why they were stranding themselves in Sydney but “mass standings are certainly not unknown in other species”.
According to Fishes Of Australia, the starry toadfish are known to form relatively large schools in some areas.
The website the said animal, often found near reefs, can grown to 43cm.
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