A leisurely day on the creek in Australia turned near-deadly when a kayaker scooped up a highly venomous stonefish onto their paddle.
Jennifer Taylor, whose partner was the one to spot the poisonous sea creature, told Newsweek, "My partner and our friend were in the kayaks going to check our crab pots and they saw it swimming and one of them managed to scoop it up."
She added, "Stonefish have venomous barbs which can kill you very quickly. They are considered the most venomous fish."
Typically found in shallow, coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, this particular stonefish was found in a saltwater mangrove creek in close proximity to the ocean.
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Stonefish boast 13 spines on their bodies, which secrete a lethal venom. Contact with the venom can cause muscular paralysis, breathing troubles, shock, and sometimes heart failure, Newsweek reports.
Their stone-like camouflage makes them hard to spot, making them easy for swimmers to accidentally step on or come into contact with.
Stonefish also have specialized, razor-sharp bones in their cheeks with the ability to extend them outwards horizontally to avoid being attacked or eaten. This poses an additional threat to humans.
According to the Queensland Museum, stonefish attacks cause "immediate, excruciating" pain that "may last for many days."
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