Collecting Cone Shells
Beautiful Coral Reef Predators with Powerful Venom
The toxins produced by some of the cones can be more than painful; they can be lethal.
Cone Shells (family Conidae) are extremely popular with collectors. There are about 500 different species, and most of them are beautifully marked. The simplest classification puts them all into a single genus – Conus.
Living Cone Shells
Most live on or around coral reefs, rather like the cowries – but unlike the cowries the cones are all carnivores. They creep around looking for worms, other molluscs and even fish – and when they get close enough they harpoon them. This harpoon is a long hollow structure, and it is disposable. When it penetrates another animal a powerful toxin is released, killing the prey and allowing the cone to eat at its leisure.
Danger to Humans
Most cones can give a nasty ‘sting’, and some of them are very dangerous. One of the most dangerous (C.geographus) is also known as ‘the cigarette snail’ – if stung you have just enough time to smoke a cigarette before you die! C.textile, pictured above, is also extremely dangerous. The harpoons are very strong, and they can even puncture neoprene wet-suits. After saying all that it is obvious that live cone shells should never be handled – they will sting in self defence.
Use of Venom
Paradoxically these venoms (which can cause enormous pain) can be used to produce pain-killers. The toxin of C.magus provides a pain-killer is one thousand times stronger than morphine and has the additional benefit that it is non addictive. Other cone venoms are being evaluated for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Collecting Cone Shells
The collecting of these creatures from the wild has its dangers! (see above), not only to the humans involved, but also to the ecosystems they are part of. Unlike the cowries which are grazing herbivores, the cones are further up the food-chain and control populations of their prey. It is not known what effects their removal from the reef might have, but the consequences are likely to be far-reaching (rather as the over-collection of the Giant Triton,Charonia tritonis - which eats the Crown-of-thorns Starfish, Acanthaster planci - can lead to problems for coral reefs).
Buying Cone Shells
Individual collectors do little damage to the environment provided the act responsibly, but some shells that are available have been collected by unscrupulous professionals. Collectors who wish to avoid contributing to the destruction of coral reefs in particular, and environmental damage in general, should always attempt to find out where and how their specimens were collected.
Main reference: Encyclopedia of Shells by S.Peter Dance (1974)
Other articles by John Blatchford
