Boy Spiny.

Robert Full It's spiny, right? It's really spiny, isn't it? It sort of hurts.

And lots of generations, lots of tweaking and torquing, and we turn our puffer into the Mola.

They appeared shortly after the dinosaurs disappeared, 65 million years ago, at a time when whales still had legs, and they come from a rebellious little puffer fish faction oblige me a little Kipling esque storytelling here.

Of course evolution is somewhat random, and you know, about 55 million years ago there was this rebellious little puffer fish faction that said, oh, the heck with the coral reefs we're going to head to the high seas.

For example, spiny dogfish is partly substituting for cod in many European fish and chip shops. Sharks, too, are suffering from rapidly rising demand for shark fin soup, which is considered a delicacy in many parts of Asia.

Biologist Robert Full shares slo mo video of some captivating critters. Take a closer look at the spiny legs that allow cockroaches to scuttle across mesh and the nanobristle packed feet that let geckos to run straight up walls.

By 1992, however, over fishing had forced the total closure of this once highly productive fishery, and, despite all efforts, Newfoundland s Grand Banks has never recovered. Similarly, over fishing of sharks in the Caribbean has triggered a rise in octopus and a drastic drop in spiny lobsters and scallops 160 two major sources of revenue for neighboring coastal communities.

By 1992, however, over fishing had forced the total closure of this once highly productive fishery, and, despite all efforts, Newfoundland s Grand Banks has never recovered. Similarly, over fishing of sharks in the Caribbean has triggered a rise in octopus and a drastic drop in spiny lobsters and scallops two major sources of revenue for neighboring coastal communities.

It is a similar story for several species of shark, including the oceanic white tip, scalloped hammerhead, and the great and spiny dogfish. Despite strong scientific evidence showing sharp declines in the populations of all three, every proposal for tougher trade controls on these marine species along with more than 30 species of coral 160 failed to secure the necessary two thirds majority.

It is a similar story for several species of shark, including the oceanic white tip, scalloped hammerhead, and the great and spiny dogfish. Despite strong scientific evidence showing sharp declines in the populations of all three, every proposal for tougher trade controls on these marine species along with more than 30 species of coral failed to secure the necessary two thirds majority.