Cone Snail facts

The cone snail (especially the ones that prey on fish) are extremely venomous with venom powerful enough to kill a human. The Wikipedia article mentions "The sting from the smaller ones are no more powerful than a bee or hornet sting. But for the larger fish eating species (especially Conus Tulipa, Conus Striatus, and Conus Geographus), a sting can sometimes have fatal consequences." The article also clarifies "other dangerous species to handle include Conus Textile." The Wikipedia article mentions "there is a gallows humor regarding Conus Geographus in which it is known as the "cigarette snail" because a person stung by one would only have enough time to smoke a cigarette before death."

The venom of the cone snail is one of the most complicated on earth since "it is made up of many different compounds." Considering the complexity of the cone snail venom, pharmacy companies are studying its properties as a potential pain killer. It is believed that a pain killer derived from cone snail venom "is several times more potent than morphine-without the nasty side effects." The venom of the cone snail can be collected by "teasing the cone snail by placing a fish in front of it so it will fire it's harpoon through the fish tail and into the venom collection tube." Another effective way is "dissecting dead cone snails for their venom (like the signature harpoon and the venom glands)."

Since there is no anti-venom for cone snail stings (yet), and treatment consists of keeping a victim's respiratory system functioning by means of artificial respiration, when you come across a cone snail, DO NOT pick it up. Therefore, in this case, it is better to be safe than sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3NiK9Pu5Q-Cone Sea Shell-Geographis Cone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajIRZ6TGD2Y Cone Snail (Conus Geographus)-The Video is derived from Most Extreme Season 2, episode 16-VENOM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conus

 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-venom-cure/cone-shell-cures/2061/

www.insights-philippines.de-Photo Courtesy of that website