Conus textile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Conus textile | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Conus textile |
Conus textile is a species of cone snail known as the "cloth of gold." [1] It lives in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Australia, the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to Hawaii, and French Polynesia. Typical length of adults is about 9.0 cm (3.5 in). [2]
It uses a conotoxin to kill its prey. The animal uses microscopic needles to inject the toxin into its prey. Humans can safely handle the animal by holding it from the wider end, but holding it by the narrower end will cause death within seconds. Several humans have been killed by it. [3], [4]
The female lays several hundred eggs at a time, which hatch after about 16 or 17 days. After hatching, the larvae float around in the current for approximately 16 days. Afterward, they settle at the bottom of the ocean. By this point their length is about 1.5 mm (0.06 in). [5]
The pattern on its shell resembles a cellular automaton named rule 30.
The animal was used as a murder weapon in the season 4 episode of Hawaii Five-O called "Cloth of Gold." [6]
