Marble shell snail . This slow-moving snail , commonly known as cones, lives on reefs around the world.
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 General characteristics
- 2 Toxicity
- 1 Symptoms in humans
- 3 Using his toxin
- 4Fuente
General characteristics
Specimens of the marble shell snail can exceed 20 centimeters in size, and feed on worms, small fish and other molluscs .
Toxicity
This slow-moving snail uses poison to capture its prey. Resting inside the shell , the snail sticks out a kind of nose, called a proboscis ; a sharp tooth at its end acts like a harpoon, and the poison, a neurotoxin , travels through the tooth into the victim, almost immediately paralyzing them. This poison is made up of hundreds of different compounds, and they usually act first as pain inhibitors , to later cause respiratory failure .
Symptoms in humans
Among the symptoms that the poison can cause in humans are: weakness, numbness, nausea , intense pain and swelling, and in the most severe cases, respiratory failure leading to death . For this there is no antidote .
Using your toxin
Today these poisons have a valuable future in the development of tranquilizers , as they are known to be hundreds of times more effective than morphine .
