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john.r.strohm@BI*.co* wrote:
>
> >Also, by the way, fire coral is a
> >nematocyst, and as such does not bother the fronts of your hands - you
> >can grab it all you want.
>
> Huh?
>
> This is a new one on me. What is the difference between front and back of
> hands, or anywhere else?
>
> I thought nematocyst just meant "stinging cells", with essentially a
> spring-loaded needle tip and a reservoir of nasty stuff at the base of the
> cell. On the other hand, my Basic didn't deal much with coral, and just
> about everything since then has been fresh water. (The two exceptions were
> snorkeling at Bahia Honda park, out past the outcrop where the bottom is
> CARPETED in sea urchins, and then diving sand flats and coral heads off
> Clearwater FL.)
>
> Can you recommend some supplemental reading material for me?
>
> Thanks,
> --John
The stinger only penetrates a cell or two deep. The front of the
hands have more layers of cells on the outside so the nematocysts are
ineffective. I read Marine Invertebrates by Patrick Colin, but that is
probably old or there is a newer version. I like to know what things
are, so I read those kinds of books . Also, my regular dive partner,
Bill Mee, is an encylopedia of this kind of thing.
Better to ask a guy like Pyle or one of the other scientific types
what to read on marine creatures. I just do not like to get injured in
blue holes by weird stuff. The all-time worst are the glass worms that
fall off of the ceiling on you - wear a hood in a wreck or marine cave.
--
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