The Marbled Cone Snail

This harpoon is cocked and loaded.

The marbled cone snail.

The cone snail strikes. The marbled cone snail is also known as the cigarette snail and just happens to be one of the most poisonous animals on the planet. A few varieties of cone snails eat fish and these are the most harmful to humans. Marbled cone snail is said to be the master of deception as it hides very well.

Cone snails mainly hunt worms and other snails. Cone snails use a radula tooth as a harpoon like structure for predation. It feeds on other snails including some within its own species. When it attacks its prey it sticks out its long white proboscis to shoot a poison laden harpoon sometimes attacking its prey multiple times over.

The venom of marbled cone snail is the same as that of blue ring octopus which is powerful neurotoxin which leads to weakness and loss of co ordination. The fish is paralyzed within seconds reeled back in and swallowed. Conus marmoreus common name the marbled cone is a species of predatory sea snail a marine gastropod mollusk in the family conidae the cone snails cone shells or cones it is the type species for the genus conus this is a species which is believed to feed mostly on marine molluscs including other cone snails. The marbled cone snail was the first cone snail described by the father of binomial nomenclature carolus linnaeus and is the type species for the genus conus or cone snails.

Fish hunting snails are particularly dangerous with venom strong enough to kill a human. The diet of marbled cone snail is marine worms small fish mollusks and other cone snails. Each of these harpoons is a modified tooth primarily made of chitin and formed inside the mouth of the snail in a structure known as the toxoglossan radula. This snail is venomous like all cone snails.

Cone snail shells range in size from less than an inch to 9 inches long. In order to get its prey the cone snail injects a rapid acting venom from a dart like tooth radicula or dagger. Believe it or not one drop of venom from this snail is powerful enough to kill 20 people yep you read that right. Roughly 30 humans to date have succumbed to the poison of the marbled cone snail.

With a full belly the cone snail returns under the sediment its siphon peeking out as a reminder and a. Are cone snails dangerous. The radula in most gastropods has rows of many small teeth and is used for grasping at food and scraping it into the mouth. The unique marbled cone snail is found from the southern tip of india to okinawa japan and southeast to new caledonia and samoa.