Rising temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea have created appropriate conditions for the migration of a puffer fish from the Red Sea that can be lethal to humans, authorities said yesterday.

According to researchers, the Lagocephalus sceleratus carries potentially deadly toxins in its liver, skin and reproductive organs which are capable of causing muscle paralysis, breathing and blood circulation problems if consumed.

“Our health inspection office has alerted all associations of fishermen and fish merchants,” the Athens prefecture said in a statement.

The grey fish, which has a beak-shaped mouth and four large teeth, has been sighted in waters off the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Symi as well as off Crete.