Conus victoriae is a species of sea snail

Sea snail

Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Conidae, the cone snails

Conus

Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...

 and their allies.

Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.

Description

Conus victoriae is a mollusc-eating cone (mollusiovore) possibly related to Conus textile . A component of its venom, alpha conotoxin Vc1.1 (ACV1) has been shown to be a potent analgesic in pain tests in animals and is a potential replacement for morphine for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

The biology of this cone species has been extensively studied, in particular the embryonic development of its venom apparatus , the expression of the venom gland proteome and the role of the venom bulb in delivery of venom components to the radulae.

Distribution

Western Australia from Broome north to the mouth of the Victoria River, Northern Territory where it was first discovered by Reeve in 1843

External links

• The Conus Biodiversity website
• Cone Shell and Conotoxins website
• Pain Killer Comes out of its Shell - The Age July 25, 2005
• Internet Interview with Bruce Livett
• Nervous System - Cone Snail Toxin from Untamed Science