Talira Greycrest
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What do you know about Cone snails?
Hands up who's heard of a small venomous mollusc called the Cone Snail?
--- Breathe deep, seek peace
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Mar/21/2018, 1:26
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Kaunisto
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Re: What do you know about Cone snails?
I remember seeing some of them in nature programs.
I'm quite happy to be on opposite side of world from those...
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Mar/21/2018, 1:48
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Talira Greycrest
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You wouldn't think such a small animal would have venom powerful enough to kill a person, would you? In the mid-1930s, a young man visiting Queensland's Hayman Island picked up a live Geography Cone. Stung on the hand, he felt no pain and the only evidence was a small puncture mark on his palm. He was dead five hours later.
I have a collection of seven Cone snail shells. When I was a kid, I went on holiday with my family to a place called Phillip Island. Like many other tourists, we bought souvenirs from gift shops. In one particular shop, I found a basket of shells. As I was looking through it, I saw two shells I recognised from a documentary on dangerous Australian animals. The shells belonged to the Marbled Cone and the Cloth of Gold Cone. I continued looking through the basket and found another two Cone snail shells. In early 2015, we went to Bali, and I bought two Cone snail shells from a stall near the hotel (after arguing with the stall-keeper over how much we were willing to pay). I eventually got round to photographing my collection and sent the photo, via email, to the Queensland Museum, asking them to identify the shells and voicing my suspicions that one of them might belong to the highly venomous Geography Cone. After a few weeks, I got a reply. The shells I bought in Bali belonged to the Leopard Cone and the Vexillum Cone whilst the smallest in my collection belonged to the Imperial Cone. The museum also confirmed the other unidentified shell is indeed a Geography Cone. I'm currently waiting for them to identify the shell I bought during my recent visit to New Caledonia.
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Mar/21/2018, 3:15
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Talira Greycrest
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My new Cone snail has been identified as the Striated Cone, a large fish-eating species and potentially very dangerous to humans.
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Mar/27/2018, 7:15
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starzlookdoun
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That's interesting, and a bit unnerving. What are the chances of a tourist coming across one unawares?
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Sep/21/2018, 3:05
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Talira Greycrest
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In June 2015, a tourism worker on Whitsunday Island, off the coast of northern Queensland, was walking in shallow water when he was stung on the foot. Fortunately, he survived. In severe cases, Cone snail venom can cause vision impairment, muscle paralysis and respiratory failure. A dose as small as two milligrams can be enough to kill.
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Oct/28/2018, 11:10
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Morwen Oronor
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Australia's wildlife is scary.
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Oct/30/2018, 10:54
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Talira Greycrest
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Australia has more than its fair share of dangerous animals. We've got some of the world's most venomous snakes and spiders and our oceans are full of deadly surprises: Box jellyfish, sharks, Cone snails, Stonefish, Blue-ringed octopus, etc. Just yesterday, four people in Queensland were stung by the potentially deadly Irukanji jellyfish, which is no bigger than a $2 coin, but with tentacles that could grow up to a metre long.
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Jan/5/2019, 9:25
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Kaunisto
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Re: What do you know about Cone snails?
Finland is rather the opposite, pretty much only way to get killed by wildlife here is to hit a moose with your car.
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Jan/5/2019, 15:28
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