In regards to the email below.  I have handled different species of Cones
before, some poisonous and others aren't.  The best thing to do is wear
either one or two sets of heavy rubber gloves (i.e. one pair of latex gloves
with the heavy rubber gloves over the latex).  It is important to remember
though, that even though you pick up the Cone from it's rear, it can still
stretch it's Proboscis to fire a Radulae at your hand.  Most important, when
placing them in a container, make sure that it is thick.  Never put a cone
in your pocket, most likely you will be shot in the leg.
 
Sincerely,
 
Tim
 
 
p.s. also to Horatio,  Just wondering if you still have some of those Conus
geographus species.  If so, let me know.
 
 
 
At 04:55 PM 1/5/98 +0000, you wrote:
>At 04:26 PM 1/5/98 EST, you wrote:
>>In a message dated 98-01-01 16:35:33 EST, you write:
>>
>><<   However, we do want to
>> come back alive and since there are cones out that way that can be dangerous
>>to
>> our health, we'd like to ask for your guidance on how to handle/pick up these
>> poisonous shells.  >>
>> Dear Kathy,
>>  I am not a cone collector, but a friend of mine collected in the Seychelles
>>and told me they used to tie an empty milk jug to themselves, with the cap on
>>and an X cut in the side of the jug. He said they could put the cones in and
>>they couldn't get out and they could not sting through the heavy plastic of
>>the jug. You would put the cones in through the X cut. That is about all the
>>information I have. I know you should pick them up from the wide end and DO
>>NOT hold them for long as they are very aggressive.
>>     Good luck,
>>          Carole M
>>
>When I waa collecting on Okinawa, I was frequently asked to pick up some
>rather large Conus geographus (10 cm+) .  My metod (bare handed) was to
>grasp the shell at the base and watch it very carefully as you transfer it
>to a bucket (not a sock).  If the critter even started to emerge, I would
>drop it and the shock would cause the animal to retreat immediately, and you
>could follow the above procedure into the bucket.  I probably picked up 20
>or so of them and never had any problems.  On some nights ( we basically
>shelled at night). the cone traffic would get so bad that I would tell my
>fellow collectors that the next one was going to be mine.
>
>Horatio
>
>