These slow-moving marine snails are among the most venomous creatures on Earth. Using a harpoon-like tooth, they inject a powerful venom containing over 200 toxins, which can penetrate wetsuits. Some species release insulin to shock fish into immobility before injecting them. At least 27 human deaths have been attributed to cone snail stings. One species is nicknamed the "cigarette snail" because victims allegedly have only enough time to smoke one before dying. Remarkably, researchers are developing a non-addictive painkiller from its venom, said to be 1,000 times stronger than morphine.
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