Maculotoxin: A Neurotoxin from the Venom Glands of the Octopus Hapalochlaena maculosa Identified as Tetrodotoxin

1978/01/13 by D.D. Sheumack, M.E.H. Howden, Ian Spence +1 · 5 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Medicine · #Cephalopods and Marine Biology #Marine Toxins and Detection Methods #Pain Mechanisms and Treatments

paper · doi:10.1126/science.619451

openalex publication_date 1978/01/13 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Maculotoxin, a potent neurotoxin isolated from the posterior salivary glands of the blue-ringed octopus. Hapalochlaena maculosa, has now been identified as tetrodotoxin. This is the first reported case in which tetrodotoxin has been found to occur in a venom.

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• Tetrodotoxin-producing bacteria from the blue-ringed octopus Octopus maculosus
• Tetrodotoxin, Tarichatoxin, and Chiriquitoxin: Historical Perspectives a
• PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTION OF AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL VENOMS
• Chemical defense in pelagic octopus paralarvae: Tetrodotoxin alone does not protect individual paralarvae of the greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) from common reef predators
• Tetrodotoxin [wikipedia]