Mique - 30 seconds? That couldn't have been a very potent cone venom! Certainly not as potent as that of the deadly South Sea Conus purpurascens! Here is the account of the gun Wayne referred to, from the script of Jurassic Park III . . . "That a Lindstradt?" she asked. "Yup. Lindstradt air rifle. Most expensive gun in the world. Fires a subsonic impact-delivery dart. I'm loading it with the enhanced venom of Conus purpurascens - South Sea cone shell. It's the most powerful neurotoxin in the world. Acts within a two-thousandth of a second, which is faster than the nerve-conduction velocity. So, the animal's down before it even feels the prick of the dart," Adams said quickly and informatively. Thank goodness we have Hollywood to inform us of such natural wonders! Here is another bit of malacological lore, from Chapter 6 of Crystal Watson's Headhunter . . . "Don't tell me that this snail is also poisonous," commented the inspector, as he walked up behind the two of them. "It is, indeed," answered Dr. Crane with a grim smile. "It has tiny little teeth that it shoots through its proboscis like darts from a blowgun. They're quite venomous." Paul M.