Snails

A highly venomous cone shell

Snails, are gastropods, the largest class of molluscs, and possibly the most familiar of all the groups on the Great Barrier Reef.

Snails typically have a body that is usually coiled in a shell, with a well developed head enclosing a tooth covered tongue called a radula, and a large flat foot used for locomotion. In some species, the shell is uncoiled.

Cone Shells

The Cone Shell is one of the most distinctive snails on the Reef. Cone shells are hunters that use venomous harpoons to kill their prey.

Feeding

While most cone shells feed on worms, some specialise in hunting other shells - and some even on fishes. Cone shells are capable of smelling and tracking their prey over great distances by 'tasting' or 'sniffing' the water until they catch up with their quarry.

The venom is extremely potent, killing the prey almost instantly. It has to be, to ensure that their prey doesn't swim or crawl out of reach.

Dangerous snails

Venom from the fish-catching species of cone shells, can be fatal to humans. Potentially dangerous cone shell species include:

• Geographer cone (Conus geographus)
• Tulip cone (Conus tulipa)
• Striated cone (Conus striatus)
• Magician cone (Conus magus)
• Textile cone (Conus textile)
• Marble cone (Conus marmoreus)
• Court cone (Conus aulicus)