A deadly tropical sea snail uses a super-potent form of insulin to subdue its fish prey, scientists have discovered.
The geographic cone snail (conus geographus) uses the chemical to cause a plunge in blood sugar, leaving the fish sluggish and unable to swim to safety.
In this way the snail is able to entrap whole schools of small fish.
It hunts in two ways, both by releasing toxins into the water and by firing a harpoon-like poison-tipped tooth into its prey.No antidote exists for a cone snail sting, which contains a mixture of nerve agents.
The new research has uncovered one highly unusual ingredient in the cone snail's venom cocktail - weaponised insulin. US scientist Professor Baldomero Olivera, from the University of Utah, said: 'This is a unique type of insulin. It is shorter than any insulin that has been described in any animal.
