Nouvelle théorie a propos de l'origine de la vénénosité : de certains poissons antillais

The problems caused by venomous fish in the waters of the Lesser Antilles were studied in two notes published by the state-run Technical Assistance and Social Credit Company (SATEC) and in older works by Poey (1866), Arcisz (1950) and Randal (1958). The first SATEC note gives the brief description and classification of venomous coastal fishes of St. Barthelemy; the other SATEC note explores the hypotheses on the origin of venomousity of tropical fish based on a vast literature review (Morice, 1961, 1962). It also gives in the appendix a complete list of "fearful" species (this is how venoumous fish are designated in the local language and the "ciguatera" is called a "hurt fish") in St. Barthelemy waters and reports the cases of poisoning studied on the island since September 1960.In October 1963, we carried out a short expedition to St. Martin, during which we established equivalences between local names used by the inhabitants of St. Barthelemy and St. Martin to designate dangerous species. Moreover, thanks to kind help by a doctor at the Marigot hospital, we were able to note details on the symptoms from a series of serious poisonings that occurred at Marigot and surrounding areas in July-August 1963. The species incriminated by the victims of this poisoning had been caught in the south-west of the "Ile des Chiens" situated in the north-west of St. Martin and were all part of the list previously established for St. Barthelemy.