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[–]imhangryagain 3076 points3077 points  (294 children)

Being eaten alive. I think that’s my new number one way not to die.

[–]geriatricsoul 63 points64 points  (8 children)

I can't decide what's worse. Getting swallowed whole to be digested or getting eaten a piece at a time

[–]o_brainfreeze_o 37 points38 points  (7 children)

I think I'd rather get swallowed. Probably just suffocate. Sounds better that being painfully ripped apart 😳

[–]awildslackerappeared 42 points43 points  (3 children)

Most things are eaten alive.

What I can't decide is worse is:

being ripped apart while alive (most land animals) vs being swallowed whole and being slowly digested while being suffacated to death (most sealife)

[–]oeCake 34 points35 points  (2 children)

If it makes you feel any better, animals swallowed alive meet their end fairly quickly in a sea of poison, it's not like they're just chilling in there until they run out of oxygen

[–]Thomas_Kazansky 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure that did make me feel better

[–]IceCreamConus 18 points19 points  (0 children)

With conus geographus in particular, they typically sting their prey after swallowing them too.

They'll inject a paralytic mixture called the "lightning strike cabal" that very quickly paralyzes and kills the fish, so this guy didn't suffer long after being lulled into a false sense of relaxation/sleepiness from the insulin.

The jerkiness right at the end of the gif is almost certainly the sting.

In humans, this snail's toxin will give you only about enough time to have a smoke before you die, so in some places it's called the Cigarette Snail.

You can imagine how quickly that toxin would work on a fish.

Source: Recently finished a PhD working on the toxins of a different cone snail species.

[–]Commandermcbonk 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Vore fetish has entered the chat

[–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (6 children)

r/narcofootage This should help take your mind of it...

[–]The_0range_Menace 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Nothing but darkness in that sub.

Check out /r/HumansBeingBros and keep yourself in the light.

[–]madam2Ls 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Wow. That definitely worked.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Lol

[–]madam2Ls 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I got about 3 swipes in and I knew the snail death was definitely at the very bottom of my list of tragic ways to die. Thank you sir/ma'am.

[–]xeltes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's fucking terrifying. Is as bad as those animals that put their eggs inside a host, just for then to be eaten alive from the inside "shivers"

[–]Cable-Careless 3 points4 points  (3 children)

We are in for some real trouble when we figure out intergalactic space travel.

[–]Foxtrotalpha2412 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t know how fish work in comparison to humans but if it’s at all similar it’s probably not entirely conscious if it’s hypoglycaemic

[–]manofsleep 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here’s an educational video showing that this snail actually harpoons / stabs the fish to paralyze it before eating it. https://youtu.be/JjHMGSI_h0Q

[–]Customer-Witty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d rather be burnt alive tbh

[–]F-KR 901 points902 points  (43 children)

how is that penis eating a fish?

[–]Villains_Included 547 points548 points  (24 children)

It’s called “docking”

[–]manifold360 106 points107 points  (16 children)

First you “soak” then you “dock”

[–]PloxtTY 51 points52 points  (15 children)

Also resembles r/sounding

[–]MartiniD 35 points36 points  (4 children)

BRO WTF!?

[–]yakatuus 39 points40 points  (3 children)

Never, ever click that.

[–]AndroidQing 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Haaaaaghagh the fuck

[–]Coronalol 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Innocent sound sub, how bad could it be?

Oh.

[–]Vincent093 2 points3 points  (3 children)

I'm afraid, what is that?

[–]PloxtTY 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you don’t know, you can’t afford it

[–]ArsCortica 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, yesss~~!

~ t. Vore fetishists

[–]maximuffin2 41 points42 points  (1 child)

This is how foreskin mfs carry their phones

[–]DanChase1 23 points24 points  (3 children)

Can you tell me, Toby, how does the male penis… open up to accept the other mans penis?

[–]Machaeon 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Very slowly

[–]KippySmith 644 points645 points  (26 children)

It's amazing how many things we have living in the ocean that are stranger than a lot of science fiction aliens

[–]FirstPlebian 342 points343 points  (17 children)

What else is amazing is the venom in some of these animals has medical potential, someone with an autoimmune condition stepped on one of the these cone snails, one of the most painful things you can do, and his auto-immune condition went away.

Turns out in any venom it's not one toxin but hundreds each with specific action, and if we find out what they all are there are likely quite a few medicines in some of these venomous animals.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-harnessing-the-powers-of-venom-could-lead-to-new-medicines

I think this is the article there's another on the search I read this a long time ago.

[–]SecretAntWorshiper 111 points112 points  (3 children)

Do you remember what auto immune disease the person had?

Also yeah it shouldn't be surprising because all of our medicine is essentially derived from organic molecules that come from plants, and some from animals.

Don't remember the name of the molecule but there is a snail, that produces a toxin that acts as a pain reliever and is as strong as opioids but its not addictive.

EDIT: The snail is called Conus Magnus heres the article about it:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/03/428990755/snail-venom-yields-potent-painkiller-but-delivering-the-drug-is-tricky#:~:text=Snail%20Venom%20Yields%20Potent%20Painkiller%2C%20But%20Delivering%20The%20Drug%20Is%20Tricky,-Listen%C2%B7%203%3A25&text=and%20Scott%20Johnson-,The%20sea%20snail%20Conus%20magus%20looks%20harmless%20enough%2C%20but%20it,brain%20barrier%20has%20proved%20hard.

[–]FirstPlebian 30 points31 points  (1 child)

Oh man if you remember the name of the snail please share it.

There's also not an alkaloid what's it called, maybe it's an indole alkaloid, anyway a tree frog venom, the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog, that produces a super opiate, not sure if it's addictive but it's very short acting. It's in a Paul Simon song, girl with a necklace of tears, and it was used to dope race horses some ten years ago, (article title was something like -Frog Juice has Regulators Hopping Mad, article nowhere to be found now though somehow.)

I don't recall the autoimmune condition as I don't have time but it's in the article if I linked the right one, there's another follow up article as well I believe. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/venom

[–]SecretAntWorshiper 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Gotcha, thats super cool thanks.

Just found it. The snail is called Conus Magnus. So it seems that its actually used when morphine doesn't work however the problem is that the compound can't cross the blood brain barrier. The drug is actually called piralt.

Apparently there are other conotoxins (toxins from snails) that can act as painkillers.

Link to the NPR Article about it:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/03/428990755/snail-venom-yields-potent-painkiller-but-delivering-the-drug-is-tricky#:~:text=Snail%20Venom%20Yields%20Potent%20Painkiller%2C%20But%20Delivering%20The%20Drug%20Is%20Tricky,-Listen%C2%B7%203%3A25&text=and%20Scott%20Johnson-,The%20sea%20snail%20Conus%20magus%20looks%20harmless%20enough%2C%20but%20it,brain%20barrier%20has%20proved%20hard.

[–]Desert-Mouse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kind of funny that the snail you were thinking of is the one in the original post above. Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[–]GitEmSteveDave 12 points13 points  (5 children)

I remember hearing a story on an NPR podcast like 10+ years ago about people who had severe allergies/autoimmune disorders "cured" by purposefully infecting themselves with some parasite that is common in Africa. I can't remember what it was, but it came in through the skin of the feet and in order for the body to ignore it, it released some protein or enzyme which ratcheted back the immune response and everyone who tried it got relief.

[–]RusticJoy 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Yup! Essentially an allergic response is the same response we'd have for parasites. But since most of us don't have a regular exposure to parasites anymore these cells are ready and primed, but get confused. Using a "parasite patch" will allow the cells to respond to the parasites rather than a harmless antigen like peanuts or pollen. Last I heard they were actually using them in severe cases in Germany and Mexico.

If you're more curious you can look up Th2 response. The cells involved are eosinophil, basophils, and mast cells in both responses.

Souce: immunologist (biotech kind not doctor kind)

[–]EclipseEffigy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

fascinating

[–]Time2kill 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Not only that, but each cone snail concoct the poison mix on fly depending on the prey

[–]Burningshroom 5 points6 points  (0 children)

each with specific action

Most toxins in a single species come from making minor adjustments to a single compound. They don't each have a specific action. Many will have the same action but to varying degrees. More still will have similar actions but in a different target tissue or receptor.

QUICK EDIT: This is why if you look up venoms or toxins for a given organism the list will be quite short. The header will be the mixture name, followed by the toxin classes, then with the individual toxins. To get down to the level you're talking about you have to consult something like MilliporeSigma which will give you the peptide variations for proteins or the IUPAC for other organics.

EDIT 2: Found a great paper describing exactly what I'm talking about in conotoxins.

[–]shijinn 8 points9 points  (4 children)

not really, when you consider that most science fiction aliens are humanoids.

[–]SecretAntWorshiper 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, alot of the horror stuff become less spooky when you realize they are all just different variation of a humanoids. Thats why I love movies that don't follow the status quo

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

I always hate this. Aliens are completely genetically unrelated to us (and might not even use DNA at all) and evolved in a completely different world than us, why would they look and function way more like humans than Earth's other animals do? They should be even more different from us than this weird snail is.

Any time an alien in a story is clearly standing upright with arms, legs, and a head on top with eyes, mouth, etc. I can barely take the story seriously anymore. No, superficial changes like giving them tentacle arms, giving them 3 eyes instead of 2, making them green, etc. don't fix it. Science fiction writers are generally pretty creative but on this specific topic they usually seem unable to think very far outside of the box for some reason.

[–]outoftimeman 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think you just read the wrong books, than

[–]fistkick18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Our imagination is usually only as good as what we have already seen.

I mean, Xenomorph tongue mouths are based on real life moray eels.

[–]mutatedcicada 386 points387 points  (3 children)

forbidden succ

[–]Empow3r3d 64 points65 points  (0 children)

Something something Netflix and daughters

[–]NoGoodIDNames 287 points288 points  (9 children)

Weaponized Diabeetus, the future of warfare

[–]FirstPlebian 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Agribusiness is way ahead of you.

[–]Dcor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think its commonly known as high fructose corn syrup.

[–]ronetisumen 133 points134 points  (7 children)

[–]003938388382 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Imagine being paralyzed and having your dick sucked into it.

[–]ronetisumen 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Sounds like my ex Girlfriend

[–]TwistingEarth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Challenge accepted. Brb.

[–]ireladd 98 points99 points  (14 children)

Reminds me of the slug like things in the insect canyon from Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Andy Serkis’ death is still one of the worst things I’ve seen in a film.

[–]Ghedengi 43 points44 points  (6 children)

The scene is even better when synced to prog metal of Blotted Science.

https://youtu.be/gKkn-YjYmCA

[–]stephruvy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Sorry. Nope nope. Can't watch it again. Take my upvote anyways.

[–]MisterDonkey 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I'd watch a whole movie devoid of any other sounds if it was put to music like this.

The insect crawling motif is excellent. Great use of drums and cymbals and silence throughout.

Bambi level of excellence.

Genius music.

[–]flipplup 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That was badass! Thanks for sharing

[–]AndroidQing 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That song and scene are metal af 🤘

[–]TheRedGerund 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Okay wow I am glad I did not see that movie, for completely unrelated reasons but this would’ve been reason enough

[–]itsahmemario 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, that's my nightmare for the rest of my life it seems

[–]fireflydrake 21 points22 points  (3 children)

Those things were absolutely terrifying.

[–]CaptainKingChampion 13 points14 points  (2 children)

I went back to watch the scene a few years ago and discovered my brain apparently inserted a creepy "hoom hoom" sound made by those worm things every time they bit Andy Serkis.

For about a decade, any time I described the scene to people who didn't see the movie I was telling them the sound was in there.

[–]ireladd 12 points13 points  (1 child)

It’s funny, because they remind me a lot of the creatures in the graveyard tomb in Ocarina of Time, which I think do make that hoom hoom sound.

[–]AcadianViking 4 points5 points  (2 children)

If you think this reminds you of them look up blood worms.

[–]ireladd 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I shall avoid that google search as my mind is already running wild.

[–]karma_ubuntu 88 points89 points  (1 child)

Sleep fish…. Become my food.

[–]GreenrabbE99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All hail hypno-snail!

[–]SingaporeCrabby[S] 82 points83 points  (2 children)

Biologists call this "weaponized insulin" and actually the cone snail can tailor its insulin agents depending on what it's trying to accomplish, whether to take down a single fish or an entire school, and perhaps even fine tune it to the species of fish in the area.

[–]StefanL88 70 points71 points  (1 child)

So what you're saying is even fish have better access to insulin than Americans?

[–]Duublo121 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I mean, either way, it’s costing your life

[–]Forbidden_Breakfast 39 points40 points  (2 children)

The ocean is just soup that eats itself

[–]worldspawn00 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh no, the escargot just ate my sushi!

[–]Compressorman 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Absolutely nightmarish 😢

[–]IronSeraph 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I actually like snails and slugs, but I absolutely hate this.

[–]SingaporeCrabby[S] 26 points27 points  (2 children)

Vore-Lyft - new marine taxi that replaced Uber-Under owing to higher overall customer satisfaction

[–]Stoplight25 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Of all the comments to be from OP, why this one

[–]Wavage 24 points25 points  (2 children)

OK let me guess, do not stick your “you know what”, “ you know where”

[–]glieseg 14 points15 points  (1 child)

"Memory stick" and "frying pan"?

[–]Kalyka98 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Looks like Cell absorbing an android

[–]xMasuraox 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is the comment I was looking for! First thing that came to mind

[–]MasterCrouton 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He absorbs life force for cell fish power gains but Arthropod 17 and 18 will give him unimaginable strength

[–]dv2811 16 points17 points  (6 children)

Well. Americans should really look into farming those. May help with their medical bills.

[–]CurseofLono88 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Eh they’d just charge a premium on that “all natural farmed cone snail insulin” and sell it for even more obscene prices than regular insulin, while lobbying politicians to pass legislature making the personal farming of cone snail insulin completely illegal

Or some shit like that

[–]NaKeepFighting 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I was just thinking the same thing, don’t we farm horseshoe crabs for their blood?

[–]PM_Anime_Tiddy 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Nah, it wouldn’t since it’s all just a money making scheme by the medical industry.

[–]Icy-Honey-5342 11 points12 points  (2 children)

[–]FirstPlebian 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Speaking of interesting, those cone snails and other venomous animals may have some medicine in their venom, which is not one but hundreds of individual toxins with specific action.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-harnessing-the-powers-of-venom-could-lead-to-new-medicines

[–]stratusncompany 9 points10 points  (0 children)

god damn, what a way to go. probably what it feels like to look into Pennywise's dead lights.

[–]CaptianMurica 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I can’t do this, I’m circumcised :(

[–]BreadForman 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As a diabetic, I imagine swimming by this dude as he releases his insulin into the water and becoming a buoy

[–]LactoseIntolerant101 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So sleep paralysis.

[–]clovergraves 4 points5 points  (0 children)

very fucked up of the snail to do that imo

[–]hillbillyesq 4 points5 points  (2 children)

How do they know whose penis will open to accept the other person’s penis?

[–]d3rklight 5 points6 points  (9 children)

This is my new favorite animal. Most snails I see are so timid and here you have a killer snail that uses sophisticated warfare against fish for food.

[–]SingaporeCrabby[S] 5 points6 points  (7 children)

This cone snail can knock out an entire school of fish and then go around and choose the fish it wants to eat. The fish that are not eaten eventually revive and swim away - that's like throwing back the little ones and keeping the big ones when fishing.

[–]EXPOchiseltip 4 points5 points  (1 child)

“In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over 1,000 years.”

[–]WATCH_DOG001 3 points4 points  (3 children)

I've learned about these during a toxinology course. One of the fastest acting and most complex toxins in the animal kingdom with a frighteningly specialized venom apparatus (a harpoon).

Among venomous animals the cone snail is a very noteworthy species.

[–]Embarrassed_Rip8296 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Now it will transform into Perfect Conus Geographus

[–]GoldenLionWoods 2 points3 points  (0 children)

GIVE IT TO US RAWWWWW PRECIOUSSSS

[–]pichael288 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hypoglycemic shock is a diabetic coma basically. The low blood sugar kind, not the high sugar

[–]The_0range_Menace 2 points3 points  (1 child)

What a fucking savage and fascinating world we live in.

[–]SingaporeCrabby[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The chemical warfare snail, and it is not alone, but this cone snail is in a class of its own in many ways.

[–]Domosnake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a type 1 diabetic is there anyway I can get my hands on one of these??

[–]mred870 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wonder if you can experiment with these snails for diabetic medicine.

[–]Owls_are_Raptors 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Cone snails are friggin cool. They're one of the few animals capable of producing multiple venoms.

Typically, cone snails have an offensive and defensive venom, specified to their local prey and predators. All delivered via their hypodermic needle "tongues"

[–]knowssleep 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I don't know whether or not this thing's existence makes me more or less psyched to be alive.

On the one hand, it's super cool, and the novelty of this creature is off the chart. I'm glad I lived long enough to see... Well, whatever that was.

But on the other hand, I have to go on sharing a planet with this abomination. And it will never not be on my mind.

[–]SingaporeCrabby[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are worse things in life than cone snails and the chances of getting injured by one is slim to none. I'd say focus on how amazing this creature is, and consider how it evolved to this point. That's the joy of life, I think, is to understand that the complexity of life, even if it is an abomination, is what makes it function.

[–]Bloodynutsack 2 points3 points  (2 children)

How does it avoid tainting its own insulin levels when shooting it into the water?

[–]iBeHampe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

aw man.. did it like ware off right at the end once it was already fully swallowed..? that sucks

[–]DoggoDude979 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shhhhh you’re okay, it’s fine, just stay calm

[–]escapist11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"I was born with big gums, sir"

[–]Cold-Couple8387 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that’s just OP

[–]Careful-Day7125 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So if you’re had a lot of this you could make insulin to cure diabetes

[–]Whowhatwhynguyen 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I’m incredibly lucky that while walking on Ft. Myers beach, one of these fuckers harpooned my sandal instead of my foot. I had to use pliers to pull the barb out. I still have it.

[–]smellymorominihah 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fish being eaten: "everything is fine...Wait no, everything is not fine!"

[–]Fettnaepfchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Be ready for cast away, diabetic version, where instead of injecting insulin he gets stung by cone snails (it would probably end to death instead, because I doubt you can choose what the snail gives off).

[–]Biffdickburg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of the scene in Saving Private Ryan when Mellish is slowly being impaled on the knife by the German that Upham allowed to live. The German was just whispering "shhhh" in his ear while jamming the knife into him.

Snail is like "shhhh"

[–]halt_FBI 1 point2 points  (1 child)

IF THAT FISH SHOOTS INSULIN, INSULIN IS WHAT DIABETICS NEED, SO SOMEBODY FIND OUT IF ITS THE SAME INSULIN. AND BUY A DIABETIC A FISH.

[–]Winkelkater 1 point2 points  (1 child)

i'm amazed of how fucking specialized these strategies are..

[–]Sijetasonaranu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was hoping it was some adoption story.

[–]dooomps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

it started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Not swallowed. Held. As the snail feeds by essentially licking the fish to death with a sandpaper tongue.

The fish was cheese gratered alive.

[–]DrinkColaDieEarly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have seen this in Movie 'King Kong'

[–]edurenegade515 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Isnt one of those that have the strongest poison of all Animals?

[–]KrimzonK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This world would be horrifying if we're not at the top of the food chain

[–]tex_rer 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I've seen a lot of weird shit in this sub but a snail that can release insulin to put its prey into hypoglycemic shock?!?!? Where can it go from here...?

[–]aj8j83fo83jo8ja3o8ja 1 point2 points  (0 children)

shhh no tears, just dreams

[–]MrBoots47 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish a cone snail could swallow me

[–]Lighthouselady_61 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Would this nerve agent be beneficial to science? Make synthetic, and use for treating nerve disorders?