their short breeding season. The researchers hypothesize that these chemicals cause the prey to be more easily harpooned, but are still uncertain as to exactly how this occurs in the wild.

Harpoon

Cone snails use a harpoon-like structure called a radula tooth for predation. Radula teeth are modified teeth, primarily made of chitin and formed inside the mouth of the snail, in a structure known as the toxoglossan radula. Each specialized cone snail tooth is stored in the radula sac, except for

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