[FishKid]

remember that nifty little snail I found? well if you dont, i thought it was a baby cerith. But it is not! it is a cone snail! the species: Oenopota levidensis



thats what it looks like. it is very small! 3/4" at most and I dont know how to handle it! I have noticed a thinning out of my nassarius population, so I guess thats the reason! How do I get rid of it, with out risking death?

mark

[icemark]

tongs, tweezers, wetdry shop vac

[gramma royale]

so i take it cone snails are extremely dangerous to people and reefs?

[Biomanjcs72]

Yes, gramma Royale, Cone snails are toxic, they have a proboscis, that proboscis is used to "sniff" out prey, which are then "harpooned" by a cartilaginous spear the snail shoots out of it's proboscis. there is a neurotoxin that paralyzes the prey, and the snail takes it's sweet time injesting the critter. They obviously won't eat humans, but if you happen to get harpooned, the poison is quite unpleasant at the least, and in some species (of cone snails) it causes death in humans. One of the neat things about these little guys is that they recycle the projectile, when they digest the prey, the "spear" is recycled into an internal "quiver" of sorts, where it resides until needed again.

[ravenmore]

Actually some species are VERY toxic to humans. The nuerotoxin they use kills nerve cell pretty much eveyway they can be killed. I read somewhere that the mortality rate was something like 70% for all victims from these snails. They compared it to something like ~30% for cobra bites....

Mark, did you run it by Dr. Shimek yet? How did you ID it? It's probably best to remove it anyway but it'd be nice to confirm it....

-Mike

[FishKid]

no reply from the post at dr. rons forum. I came to the conclusion when I was cruising his site, that is 100% what it looks like, the black rings and all.

[gramma royale]

holy jez! You know, I actually remember hearing about this thing like almost a decade ago on the Discovery Channel. I always thought the snail was huge or something. Thanks for the info, I'll be looking around for it.

[ravenmore]

Dr. Shimek just chimed in to fishkid's post in Dr. Shimek's forum.

He said it probably wasn't Oenopota levidensis as this species is from cold waters and is harmless to humans.

[reefhead]

go thing

[ranaman]

now this is a cone shell Conus gloria-maris. At one time known from less than 5 specimums. When one was offered for sale the buyer is reported to have smashed it, saying now HE had the only one. This was pre-scuba.

[ranaman]

This is the fish eating Conus geographus, this cone has recorded human fatalities.

[reptilicus]

G'day,
there are only 2 species of cone shell that are really dangerous to man, Conus textilis and Conus geographus. If it is not one of these species (which it isn't) then you shall not be killed by picking it up. Still, if it was any member of the genus Conus (which it isn't), best to leave it alone. Doesn't look like a cone shell at all IMO. I'd be very surprised if it is one.
Regards,
Tom

[ranaman]

This is the snail eating cone Conus textile. This cone has also caused some fatalities. According to John Hoover one of these snails was mantained for 9 years in an aquarium by a shell collector who used it to clean shells. He states most cone snails stings have the intensity of a bee sting and subside in several hours, soreness or numbness can occur after the sting and numbness can last several weeks.
If breathing problems, nausea, or headache appear it is ER time.