88. Textile Cone Snails
Domain: Australia, French Polynesia. the Indo-Pacific region, and the Indian Ocean (between east Africa and Hawaii).
Textile cone snails, aka the cloths of gold, are very dangerous. They are nearly 3.5 inches long and have attractive shells. Unfortunately, they have small harpoons full of their killer neurotoxin. When threatened, they fire off the harpoons in all directions. The projectiles can penetrate bare flesh. Barbs from the adult snails can even break through a wetsuit. The species nicknamed “cigarette snails” are so deadly their victims only have time to smoke a single cigarette prior to their deaths.
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