Range: Oceans worldwide Habitat: Coral reefs, deep waters, and more Size: Up to 9 inches (23cm) long Diet: Marine gastropods, marine molluscs, and fish Threats: Unknown Life span: Unknown

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files, we’re talking about cone snails. There’s lots to learn about the animal kingdom, don’t forget to subscribe for new updates! Cone snails are freaking awesome. If you’ve been following this channel at all, you’ll know my love for gastropods has no end. These marine gastropods are no exception. Best known for their potentially deadly toxin, cone snails are seriously under appreciated. In fact, we ought to be thanking them, because it’s their venom that has helped us develop a pain killer that is more effective than morphine and doesn’t come with the addictive side effects. Also, there’s thought that the compounds found in cone snail venom may be able to help with memory affecting diseases like Alzheimer’s. So, yeah, a big round of applause to these awesome animals for just doing what they do.

But why exactly do cone snails have such strong toxins? Well, if you think about it, at the end of the day, they’re still snails. It’s no secret that snails are relatively slow animals. When considering the diet of cone snails, however, their toxic tendencies become clear. Most cone snails stick to a certain type of food. Some eat other marine gastropods, others eat other marine molluscs, and some consume fish. Now, when we think about how fast a fish can swim, it becomes clear why a cone snail must have a toxic punch that works almost instantly. If the fish swam away, even in the throes of death by envenomation, the cone snail would never be able to keep up. Hence, super potent venom as well as a harpoon-like barb that holds the fish in place so it can be engulfed whole.

Technically, cone snails have been observed eating one of two ways. There are the ones who stick their target with the hollow needle-like tooth - called a radular tooth - and inject their venom while holding the prey in place; these are generally the cone snails that go after fish and are considered the most dangerous to humans since they have the most toxic toxins. There are also cone snails who engulf their prey from the get go - using their proboscis - and immobilize said prey with venom while they eat. Hey, I didn’t say it was pretty, but it’s still fascinating, okay?

Cone snails likely use chemical receptors located in their siphon as well as sight to locate prey, and probably potentially mates, as well. So, cone snails are unique because they actually display separate sexes. A lot of gastropods are hermaphroditic, meaning they have both male and female reproductive parts, but cone snails can be either male or female. The male will locate a female and fertilize her eggs either internally or externally. The female will then lay the eggs, placing them in sacs containing about 40 individual eggs and positioning these sacs against appropriate surfaces.

The eggs will take about two weeks to hatch at which point they’ll be free swimming larvae and can sometimes even look like super tiny cone snail adults. Now, there are currently somewhere between 500 and 1,000 described species of cone snails, and their naming has been pretty heavily debated in the past few decades, so this isn’t necessarily the way it works for all species.

Just like with reproduction, a cone snail’s preferred habitat can vary depending on the species. Most cone snails enjoy warm tropical waters around coral reefs, though some are found in deep water and others don’t mind a little coldness. They’re almost all nocturnal, and many spend their days hiding buried in the sand. The largest cone snails can be nine inches (23 centimeters) long, and they all come with intricately patterned shells that grow with them as they grow throughout life. There currently isn’t any data on how long cone snails can live, but that may change as we learn more about these awesome animals!

For more facts on cone snails, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up for snails, a thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.