第 1141 號，共 1 402 號

Geography cone

Conus geographus

致命地球上最致命的動物之一。如果牠螫了你，要立刻求救。幾分鐘內就能致命。救援必須已經在路上。

螫吃：魚類

The geography cone is a predatory sea snail that lives on shallow tropical reefs in the Indo-Pacific. It hunts small fish. Its venom is strong enough to kill a person, which makes it one of the most dangerous cone snails.1

分布在

Red Sea, Indian Ocean (including off Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania), Indo-Pacific reefs, and off northern and western Australia and Queensland1

印度洋, 太平洋, 珊瑚海, 菲律賓海, 帝汶海與阿拉弗拉海, 孟加拉灣

首頁

It lives in the sediment of shallow reefs in tropical seas.1

長度

4,3 cm 到 17 cm (1,7 in 到 6,5 in)1

最高速度

大約 0,01 km/h（0,01 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats small fish. It fires a harpoon-like, venom-tipped tooth into its prey. The harpoon is attached to the snail by a proboscis (a tube-like feeding organ), and the prey is pulled inside to be eaten.1

Geography cone 的照片 — Geography cone。照片：Daderot, no known copyright restrictions (public domain)。 Public domain, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Broad, thin shell that is cylindrically inflated, usually 10 to 15 cm long1
Ground colour is pink or violet-white, sometimes reddish1
Mottled pattern of chestnut or chocolate brown, usually forming two irregular bands1
Wide pink or violet-white opening and numerous shoulder ridges or spines1

常被誤認為： Compared with other cone shells of a similar size, the geography cone has a noticeably wider, more convex middle and a flattened spire. Its walls are also thinner and lighter.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Its venom is a complex mix of hundreds of different toxins, delivered through the harpoon-like tooth. It has the most toxic sting known among cone snails. Even the most venomous cone snails take about one to five hours to kill a healthy adult, but medical care must still be prompt.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

There are reports of about 36 human deaths over the past 300 years. Live specimens should be handled with extreme caution.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Most of the venom's toxic compounds are believed to be used for defence rather than feeding.1

如果牠螫人

There is no antivenom for a cone snail sting. Treatment consists of keeping the victim alive until the symptoms wear off, so prompt medical care is essential.1
加壓固定法：用彈性繃帶緊緊包住咬傷處，再往上包住整條手臂或腿，用夾板固定，並讓傷者完全不動，直到救援抵達。
藍環章魚或芋螺會讓人在意識還清醒時就停止呼吸：馬上求救，並準備好做人工呼吸，直到救護人員接手。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠螫了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲太平洋印度洋珊瑚海菲律賓海帝汶海與阿拉弗拉海孟加拉灣

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 5 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長比花園蝸牛還慢

Geography cone 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻海馬 大約 0,0015 km/h (0 mph)

Geography cone 大約 0,01 km/h (0,01 mph)

一隻花園蝸牛 大約 0,05 km/h (0,03 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Its venom contains a form of insulin, which it uses to stun fish. Once the venom passes through a fish's gills, the fish goes into hypoglycaemic shock (a dangerous drop in blood sugar).1

Apart from the tulip cone snail, no other known living thing is known to use its own biological insulin as a weapon.1

Research shows that some proteins from cone snail venom can be up to 10,000 times more effective than morphine as painkillers, without morphine's addictive properties and side effects.1

Of the venom's 100 to 200 toxic peptides, only 15 to 20 are used for feeding.1

Adult geography cones can fall prey to sea turtles, rays, birds and human shell collectors.1