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Post by HRH Queen Talira on Oct 27, 2018 1:32:34 GMT
Shown below is a photo of my collection of Cone snail shells. The species I have are: the Leopard Cone, the Striated Cone, the Vexillum Cone, the Marbled Cone, the Geography Cone, the Cloth of Gold Cone and the Imperial Cone. Cone snails are carnivorous molluscs found in all tropical and sub-tropical seas, usually near coral reefs. They get their name from their beautifully-patterned cone-shaped shells. There are hundreds of different species and all are venomous. Handling live specimens is not recommended, as many species have venom strong enough to kill a human. More than 30 people have died from Cone snail stings. The venom is administered via a tiny hollow tooth that's fired with considerable speed from the snail's proboscis (snout). There is no known anti-venom.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2018 16:30:55 GMT
Interesting! Who knew a snail could be venomous? I had no idea!
Are these shells very big?
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Post by HRH Queen Talira on Nov 29, 2018 0:40:20 GMT
In 1935, a fit young man in his 20s, picked up a live Geography Cone on Queensland's Hayman Island. Stung on the hand, he felt no pain and the only visible evidence was a small puncture mark on his palm. Within 30 minutes, he was complaining of blurred vision and difficulty breathing. He died five hours later.
The biggest shell I've got belongs to the Vexillum Cone, a worm-eating species that's found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. This includes the waters around Hawaii, Japan, French Polynesia and Northern Australia. In length, the shell is around 12cm, but can reach a maximum size of around 18cm.
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