> I have heard that generally the tent marked cones have the more
> virlunt poisons.

It would be dangerous to make assumptions as to which are dangerous.
Conus spurius has been known to give a painful bite, and someone with
an allergy to cone venom (not "poison") could well die if bitten by
any "harmless" cone.

As to tenting, C. striatus is known to be a deadly species. and is not tented.

Tented widemouthed cones are all related to the known danger Cylinde.
textile, and are congeneric eg C. gloriamaris.These shells are easily
identified by the style of white tents with dark-brown frames; other
tented cones eg Conus marmoreus lack frames. Species of Cylinder, one
of the few members of of the multiplicity of unsupportable "genera"
often split from "Conus", also have characteristically ciolored
animals, with a red-edged siphon.

Other widemouthed beasts related to C. omaria and C. pennaceus are
also dangerous; these probably belong to another distinct genus,
possibly along with C. geographus. These are tented species, again
without frames.

I would not want to bet that a small specimen of a dangerous species
is any less dangerous than an adult; there may be less toxin injected
during a bite, but it's the same toxin.

I think it would be wise to take a modicum of care handling ANY live
(or suspected live!) cone, and great care with any widemouthed or
textile-patterned specimen. Remember that the animal's proboscis can
reach any point of its shell, so handle using tools or a container
lip, never fingers where possible. And I bet that that proboscis can
move fast.

--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut

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