Venomous Cones

[tom heimer]

Does anyone have a list/photos of venomous Cone shells one may find in the Gulf of Gexico or Caribbean?

[paul monfils]

All cones are venomous.  That's how they kill their prey.  But only a few are sufficiently venomous to seriously harm a human being.  There are no dangerously venomous cones in the geographic area you mentioned.  The effect of a sting from a Caribbean cone is likely to range from unnoticeable to something like a bee sting.  Of course a bee sting can kill certain individuals who are highly sensitive.  I don't know if a similar sensitivity to cone venom could exist in some people.  I have never seen anything in print on that subject.

[pichest]

Paul, I'd like to know what cone is the most hazardous venomous. I heard about Conus geographus is mortal venomous, is it the most venomous one? Thank you.

[paul monfils]

Hi.  Yes, Conus geographus is the most dangerous species, mainly because of its large size rather than the virulence of its venom.  Just like snakes, all else being equal, a larger one is more dangerous than a smaller one because more venom is injected in one bite/sting.  Next in line are C. striatus and C. textile.  The dangerous cones are those with a wide aperture.  These species prey on fish.  The wide aperture allows them to swallow the fish whole, and a potent venom and large poison dart are necessary to subdue such relatively large and active prey quickly.  Cones with a narrow aperture generally feed on worms, small molluscs and other small invertebrates, which don't require a highly toxic venom or a large dart to kill them.  Conus tulipa is also a fish eater, but is less dangerous because of its smaller size.  <span class="petit">--Last edited by Paul Monfils on 2009-11-03 01:34:18 --</span>

[dave r]

I would like to add, if I may, that C. geographus is also very aggressive and can reach every part of its shell so handling it by the shoulders, as is sometimes recommended, would be ill advised. This could be a contributory factor in it being the most dangerous.
All cones are venomous, as Paul has already pointed out, even very small ones can be as painful as a bee sting. They are all best treated with great respect and handled, if at all, with thick gloves.
Dave

[Guest]

I have handled Conus geographus myself at Mahé, Seychelles in 1983. It's true: the animal was very active and almost impossible to handle. For this purpose I used a small aquarium-net for I did not want to touch this species (not even with thick gloves)

[dmaverick75]

Having collected live species of <i>C. geographus, C. striatus, C textile, and C. tulipa</i>, I absolutely agree that geographus is by far the most active of the "deadly 4."  We always used to keep plastic jars with screw cap lids with us when diving/snorkeling.  If we happened upon any of these specimens that we were interested in collecting, we would place the jar in front of the animal and quickly push it from the back, and into the jar, then place the lid on the jar and tighten.  We feel that was the safest way to collect these species.