What Is a Cone Snail?

Habitat

• Cone snails prefer to live in shallow, warm waters. They don't seem to be common in open waters, preferring instead habitats with debris, rocks, coral lumps or other objects to hide underneath. Many cone snails are found near coral reefs, though some do live near mangroves. According to the Aquarium of the Pacific, cone snails have been found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, southern Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, Baja California and California.

Food

• Different species of cone snail have different diets. Cone snails are known to prey upon small fish, as well as mollusks and worms. While the animals the cone snail feeds upon vary, the method of catching and consuming prey is fairly consistent across cone snail species. To catch food, cone snails will stab prey with their radula, a sharp and often serrated barb. Using the radula, they inject their prey with venom before swallowing it whole.

Venom

• Cone snail venom is extremely powerful. While cone snails use their venom to hunt small animals for food, it can also be lethal to larger animals. One cone snail sting can contain enough venom to kill 10 humans. However, as dangerous as cone snails can be, they are currently in high demand for medical researchers. Cone snail venom has been used to develop new and powerful pain relief medications.

Cone Snails at Risk

• Cone snails' shells are collected for their extraordinary colors and beauty. The demand for cone snails' shells, combined with the growing demand for cone snail venom from the medical community, has put wild populations of the cone snail at risk. Should the demand for cone snails increase, it is possible that they could become endangered. Steps are being taken to ensure the survival of cone snails, including an attempt to harvest venom from live snails in captivity rather than the dead bodies of wild snails.