Cone Snail

ID points

• Cone-shaped shell patterned like printed cloth
• Hunts with a venomous dart it can shoot out, deadly to humans
• Buried in the sand by day, active at night

Basics

Family

Conidae

Length

3–15 cm

Depth

0-50 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs

Distribution

Shallow tropical coral reefs

Habitat

Sandy patches on shallow reefs

Diet

Worms and fish

Easily confused with

Sponge CrabHolds a sponge over its back with the last two pairs of legsArrow CrabCarapace a sharp triangle, with a long spiny snoutBlennyOften has forked fleshy tentacles above the eyes

Fun fact

Beautiful to look at, yet the most venomous gastropod of all. A single geography cone carries enough venom to kill an adult human, and there is no antivenom.