for weeks if death does not happen. <strong>The</strong>ir venom is a complex conotoxin. Conotoxins block neural signals in <strong>the</strong> body. <strong>The</strong> Cone Snail attacks a fish, giving what amounts to an electric shock. <strong>The</strong> fish suffers total paralysis and is <strong>the</strong>n eaten. <strong>the</strong>m is now prohibited. <strong>The</strong> seashell, especially <strong>the</strong> scallop, is still used in Christian churches. It is <strong>the</strong> symbol <strong>of</strong> baptism in Christianity. Shells are perceived in almost all cultures as symbols <strong>of</strong> birth, good fortune, and resurrection. Slave traders used Cowrie shells to trade for human slaves, a truly reprehensible use for <strong>the</strong>se beautiful sea snails. <strong>The</strong>se shells were used as currency in parts <strong>of</strong> Africa and were signs <strong>of</strong> prosperity. In <strong>the</strong> 1680’s, a slave cost 10,000 shells. According to Helen Scales in her book Spirals in Time, <strong>the</strong> cost for an adult male slave in 1770 was 150,000 Cowrie shells. In <strong>the</strong> book <strong>The</strong> Shell Money <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Slave Trade authors Hogendorn and Johnson discuss British ships importing 40 million Cowries into West Africa every year until 1807 when an Act <strong>of</strong> Parliament made slavery illegal. For large payments cowries were weighed to determine value. Commonly used methods <strong>of</strong> trade were: Forty cowries made one string. Fifty strings made one head or 2,000 cowries in all. Ten heads made one bag or 20,000 cowries in all. <strong>The</strong> French prohibited <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> shells as currency in 1907. Many Africans, however, refused to use <strong>the</strong> French franc, believing that <strong>the</strong> cowrie represented <strong>the</strong>ir culture. Over half <strong>the</strong> taxes that <strong>the</strong> French demanded from <strong>the</strong>ir colony (1899- 1902) still came in to <strong>the</strong> government in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> cowrie shells. It was 1940 before <strong>the</strong> franc was accepted as currency in West Africa. <strong>The</strong> Cone snail’s venom, <strong>the</strong> conotoxin, is a deadly complex poison heavily researched by biochemists to find medicines to treat a variety <strong>of</strong> human neurological disorders like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, alcoholism, depression and epilepsy. Conotoxins are also being investigated for potential use in multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and ADHD. Cone snails are taken and sold in vast numbers to research labs around <strong>the</strong> world. In 2004 <strong>the</strong> Federal Food and Drug Administration approved an artificial version <strong>of</strong> a toxin found in <strong>the</strong> Cone snail. <strong>The</strong> drug, called Ziconotide (Prialt), is much more powerful than morphine. <strong>The</strong>re are more than 500 species <strong>of</strong> poisonous Cone snails (conidae). Cone snails are almost all tropical although some can be found in sou<strong>the</strong>rn California. <strong>The</strong>y use a needle like radula tooth to bite and inject venom and paralyze <strong>the</strong>ir prey. After <strong>the</strong> victim is paralyzed, he is <strong>the</strong>n swallowed whole. <strong>The</strong> tooth is barbed and located at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> snail’s proboscis. <strong>The</strong>y primarily attack small fish, mollusks, worms and o<strong>the</strong>r Cone snails. <strong>The</strong> venomous Cone snail is found mostly in shallow coastal waters in <strong>the</strong> tropics and sou<strong>the</strong>rn California. <strong>The</strong>se snails are very colorful, but do not pick <strong>the</strong>m up! <strong>The</strong>ir sting can be fatal—or at least make you wish you were dead! Please visit my website, cronesinger.com. My work can also be viewed on dailypaintworks.com. Go to <strong>the</strong> Artists tab and search for R. S. Perry. 30 A snail is not always <strong>the</strong> friendly garden fellow portrayed in children’s books. <strong>The</strong> cone snail, called “Geography Cone Snail,” can kill people. It has over 100 toxins in its 6 to 9 inch body. Its venom is similar to curare, used by natives to make poisonous arrows. <strong>The</strong>re have been over 30 recorded cases <strong>of</strong> death by cone snail. <strong>The</strong>ir sting can cause paralysis that lasts
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