TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Family: Conidae

Genus/species: Conus marmoreus

Marble Cone Snail IMG_8764

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Shell length to 10 cm or 4 inches. Flat, noduled spire. Reticulated pattern of black or dark brown with white patches overall.

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Red Sea, Indo-Pacific in shallow water to 90 m or 300 ft in depth on coral reef platforms or lagoon pinnacles, as well as in sand, under rocks or sea grass.

DIET IN THE WILD: Molluscivore  A predator of predators; harpoons fishes, worms and other mollusks. Its “harpoon” is a single, specialized modified radula tooth equipped with a spearlike barbed tip. The barbed tooth has a groove through which the snail injects a neurotoxic peptide poison into its victim. The prey is paralyzed then the snail devours it.

Marble Cone Snail Conus marmoreus (Conidae)

REMARKS: Small cone snails pose little danger to humans beyond a beelike sting; however, large cone snails inject enough toxin to be deadly. About 30 human deaths have been attributed to cone snail envenomation
Research on cone snail peptide conotoxin toxins is an active field and has resulted in a new highly effective painkiller recently approved by the FDA that, unlike opium-derived medications, has a low risk of addiction.

Venoms Cluster PR26

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