Off The Record
People Saw Scary Details In A Picture Of A Man And Told Him He Was “Lucky To Be Alive”
An underwater photo has others pointing out how ‘fortunate’ and ‘foolish’ a Reddit member is.
You would certainly include sharks, octopuses, and sea snakes as things you would prefer not to see while paddling in the ocean, but there is one critter you may not have even heard of or seen before that you should be much more afraid of.
The ‘dangerous’ spot
Last month, Reddit user u/AArdvarkPaws posted a picture from their trip to the Red Sea in Egypt on the r/animalid thread.
Underwater, the image depicts two hands holding what looks to be a shell in one of the palms.
It was ‘shot a long back’ using an underwater GoPro, the user explained.
“I thought I just found a very pretty seashell and was thinking about taking it home as a souvenir, but I noticed it’s still alive, feeling some weight and movement inside, so I decided to at least take some pictures of it,” they said.
They added: “Only months later I was told handling it like this might have been a very bad idea. Could you help me ID exactly what it was and what kind of danger I was really in? Was it realistically a threat to my life?”
The post questions: “How lucky I am to be still alive?”
Social media users have quickly flocked to the post to express how fortunate the individual is to be alive, especially since they are clutching a textile cone snail rather than a shell.
https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/1isww47/how_lucky_i_am_to_be_still_alive_red_sea_egypt/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=whitespace&embed_host_url=https://www.unilad.com/news/animals/textile-cone-snail-sting-photograph-717070-20250310The dangers of a cone snail
One person commented, “Are you insane?!”
Another person said, “You’re lucky and you’re also foolish,”
A third added: “Dodged a NUKE.”
Another user more helpfully wrote: “This is a textile cone snail, Conus textile. All cone snails are venomous and this species is one of those known to be dangerous to humans.”
According to Aquarium of the Pacific, cone snails are “one of the most venemous creatures on Earth,” usually “living in the sand beneath the coral and rocks in shallow waters.”
“Among the most toxic are the textile, geographic, and tulip snails and there is a higher risk of death if the geographic and textile snails are involved,” it adds. “All capture their prey by means of harpoon-like hollow teeth (radula) that are rapidly jabbed into their prey to inject the toxic venom.”
And assaults on people? Well, they usually happen when someone “steps on” or picks up a cone snail from the lake or beach.
They ‘didn’t think for a moment about danger from this’ since they were too busy worrying about’sharks, jellyfish,’ and other more obvious animals, according to U/AArdvarkPaws.
They decided, “I’ll certainly never pick one up again,” but they wondered what would happen to them medically if they were attacked by a cone snail.
What happens if you’re stung by a cone snail
According to the National Library of Medicine, the severity of the pain can vary from “a sharp pricking sensation to unbearable pain,” depending on the snail species and the individual.
In addition to advancing from “initial weakness, sweating, and visual changes to generalized muscle paralysis, respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse, and coma,” the sting may cause local numbness or extend to “entire regions of the body.”
“If a patient is untreated, death is rapid and often occurs within one to five hours. Less severe envenomations, resulting from contact with a molluscivore and vermivorous species, are milder in their toxic effects,” it warns. “These effects are also variable and may include numbness, paresthesias, and limb immobility.”
In general, avoid picking up any cone-shaped “shells” from the ocean floor or disturbing anything else from the sea. However, if you are stung by a cone snail, you should get to the hospital right once.
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