Latest news with #shellcollecting
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Video reveals TikToker was minutes away from death…but can you spot why?
With the summer holidays approaching, many will be looking forward to going abroad. But you should be careful when picking up shells on the beach, as it could leave you minutes from death. A video, shared by TikToker Beckylee Rawls, shows her walking along a beach in Okinawa in Japan when she picks up a pretty shell. She shows it to the camera before putting it back into the sea – and it was only later that she realised her mistake. In another video she holds up a similar shell, saying: 'Yep, that was me picking up a marbled cone snail – one of the deadliest creatures on Earth. Had no idea.' She explained: 'I was out tidepooling in Okinawa, Japan, and I came across this shell. 'As you can see, it's one of my favourite shells to collect because the pattern is so stunning. 'So I pick up the shell and that's when I noticed the shell's alive, and the black and white tube you see is the snail's siphon which it breathes out of. 'This is also the end of the snail that shoots a harpoon to sting and inject its victims with venom.' She said it was only after Googling the shell that she realised her mistake. 'I was playing with the most venomous creature in the ocean that can lead to full paralysis or fatality,' she said, She explained that the species is allegedly nicknamed the 'cigarette snail', because 'you have just enough time after it stings you to light a cigarette before you pass'. 'I hope my story spreads awareness that not all pretty shells are harmless,' she added. She also makes it clear in the comments section of the video - which has nearly racked up 30 million views – that the shells she has at home are ones that she found empty and washed up on the beach. There are around 700 species of cone snails, all of which are highly venomous. They can be found in the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the waters around Australia. These delicate but deadly snails have a large variety of patterns on their shells, which can prompt people to pick them up. This map shows the location of the geographer cone snail, which is one of the most toxic species They possess a single hollow harpoon-shaped tooth that can extend to inject toxic venom into prey, designed to paralyse it. There is currently no antivenom for cone snail injuries since the composition of the venom can vary significantly between species. However, the proteins in cone snail venom are being investigated by scientists for their potential as painkillers. Reports suggest there have been three dozen deaths and more than one hundred injuries from cone snail stings since 1670. However, only six stings have been attributed to the marbled cone snail – and none have been verifiable fatalities. What are cone snails and how deadly are they? Cone snails are among the most venomous creatures on earth, with the most toxic being the 'textile' and 'geography' species. Venom from just one cone snail is enough to theoretically kill 700 people. All capture their prey by means of harpoon-like hollow teeth (radula) that are rapidly jabbed into their prey to inject the toxic venom. Attacks on humans usually occur when a cone snail is either stepped on in the ocean or picked up from the water or the beach. Ironically, among the compounds found in cone snail venom are proteins which, when isolated, have enormous potential as pain-killing drugs. Research shows that certain of these proteins target specific human pain receptors and can be up to 10,000 times more potent than morphine without morphine 's addictive properties and side-effects.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Public invited to collect shells from Mexico Beach renourishment project
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Hurricane Michael destroyed miles of shoreline in Mexico Beach. City officials say there was less than 12 feet of beach left. The Bay County Tourist Development Council began a three-month beach renourishment project, extending the beach by about 145 feet. They completed the project on May 1. However, the dredging project brought up more than just sand. Panama City Police searching for missing 16-year-old 'They have these giant machines that the company brought in, and it just pumped up from the ocean, and it goes right into the conveyor belts, and they have a lot of like fingers that go through it with the machines, and it pulls out anything on a large scale. So that pulls a lot of the shells up,' Mexico Beach Public Works Director Mark Steele said. The city trucked the extra shells over to the Mexico Beach boat ramp and opened it up to the public to search for shells on Friday and Saturday, June 6-7. Shell collectors brought out their buckets and rakes in search of a unique shell. They could collect up to five gallons of shells a day. There are thousands of different types of shells that collectors could find. 'This is a Strombus Alatus. It's a sad one, but it is the Strombus Alatus. There's also the Left-Handed Lightning Whelk Sinistrofulgur Sinistrum. And then there's these pretty little olives that everybody's picking up because they're shiny. And this is Americoliva, subspecies Sarasototensis, which is the Gulf species,' Shell Researcher David Berschauer said. Many were searching for one of the rarest types of shells, only found in the deep ocean. 'We're looking for the Junonia. I think there's a lot of people that are looking for those. It's like the most elusive shell that people look for, and this is an example of one that's broken, but you can get the idea. It looks kind of like giraffe spots,' Shell Collector Bryan Cummings said. The leftover shells will be used in erosion projects throughout Mexico Beach. Overturned dump truck, possible fuel spill cause shut down on Rock Hill Road in DeFuniak Springs 'A lot of it will be used for public works to help people around the city with the parks. Some will be crushed down for parking lots. And they kind of supplement some of our stormwater systems with the drainage. So we do plan on using quite a bit for city use,' Steele said. Due to the success of the event, Mexico Beach plans to open up additional days for shell collection throughout the next few weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
