Skip to main content

G is for Geographic Cone Snail.....

Up to this point, all the poisons and toxins I've highlighted have been plant-based or basic periodic elements. Today, I thought we might venture into the realm of the animal kingdom...

...enter the Geographic Cone snail:


There are nearly 500 species of Cone Snails, but the Geographic Cone Snail (whose intricately-patterned shells are coveted by collectors) are by far the most deadly. There is no known anti-venom for the cone snail's toxic sting. Being stung by this reef-dwelling snail from the Indo-Pacific, becomes a battle to outlive the potency of the venom.

It goes without saying that the venom of this fish-eating gastropod must be instant-acting and potent, otherwise their prey would simply swim away to die, leaving the cone snail with no meal and a waste of venom. This species of cone snail has been disturbingly nicknamed the cigarette snail as the quip connected with the snail's toxicity is that a victim would only have the time to smoke a cigarette before the venom took full, deadly effect.

The venom of the cone snail is delivered by a harpoon-like tooth that comes out of an extendable proboscis. And, most human poisonings have been a result of individuals picking up the snail and holding/admiring their intricate shells.

Cone Snail Song

Don't be fooled by my sluggish gait,
I pack a mighty punch.
Just ask that skittish fish over there,
I had his briny uncle for lunch.

                                                                                             --- e.a.s. demers




Comments

  1. hmm - obscure but interesting. Nice topic you have chosen for the challenge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's a bit obscure...but, it was hard finding something for the letter "G".... lol

      Delete
  2. Oh my! As if I wasn't already terrified enough of venomous sea creatures...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know... and I never imagined a snail would be so venomous...

      Delete
  3. Odsbodlikins! Now I have to cross reference my list of vacation destinations with cone snail habitat. Got me rethinking this whole snorkeling thing...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL... it's scary ain't it?? You can still snorkel, just don't go picking up the pretty snails :-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Share your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z reflections....

Another A to Z challenge comes to an end--- another collection of posts and poetry have been written, another deep breath of relief is released. For my fellow bloggers that survived as well, it's another 'challenge-completed' notch carved into the writing desk. I've come to enjoy my yearly foray into the world of all things alphabetical. This was my third year, though it was only the second year I had a workable theme (which made the challenge substantially easier than the first year I attempted this challenge.) And, though my first year was difficult because my focus was so scattered, I found this year was more  difficult because I lost the enthusiasm that came with the first year excitement----excitement which helped me plug along until the end of the challenge. Year 3 was a success in the sense that I completed the challenge, though, this was the year that almost wasn't---- Somewhere about a third of the way through the challenge, I seriously considered

A-Z Reflections, year 4....

A-Z blogging challenge for 2014 has come and gone, seemingly without my realizing it. And, though I fell behind once or twice toward the end, I finished this year's challenge right on time. Really, I can't believe it's already over. I feel like I just finished my post for letter A... Year 4, for this blogger, was a far cry from the tortured state of despondency that was most of  Year 3 -- I'll not mention the irony of this year's focus on death being easier to blog about than last year's foray into supernatural creatures, we'll leave that for my therapy sessions *ahem* As always, A-Z brought with it, not only 26 days of unbridled and far-reaching knowledge (disguised as entertaining and thought-provoking blog-posts), but a chance to connect with new faces while reconnecting with familiar faces--who had perhaps drifted away--from A-Z's past.  I am always amazed by the ingenuity and inspiration that comes from lumping a couple thousand folk

K is for Kelpie.....

Today's entry is dedicated to my wonderful social club pledge sister, who sent me off from our college sanctuary with a copy of "Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales", containing an inscription that the "magic and mischief of the Kelpie follow me".... She knew I had an affinity for water and for mischief...and for all-things Celtic--so the Kelpie seemed to suit---- though, I'm not quite as savage as many folktales paint Kelpies. Kelpies are Celtic water horses, believed to haunt the lochs and rivers of Scotland and Ireland. The Kelpie was known to appear as a "lost pony", though, its identity is given away by its constantly dripping mane. Most stories give the color of the Kelpie's coat as black, though there are a few that mention the color white. The texture of the Kelpie's skin is likened to the smoothness of a seal, but its temperature is "cold as death to the touch." Like many other tales of supernatural creatures, the Kelpie