Prey-Capture Strategies of Fish-Hunting Cone Snails: Behavior, Neurobiology and Evolution.

ABSTRACT: The venomous fish-hunting cone snails (Conus) comprise eight distinct lineages evolved from ancestors that preyed on worms. In this article, we attempt to reconstruct events resulting in this shift in food resource by closely examining patterns of behavior, biochemical agents (toxins) that facilitate prey capture and the combinations of toxins present in extant species. The first sections introduce three different hunting behaviors associated with piscivory: 'taser-and-tether', 'net-engulfment' and 'strike-and-stalk'. The first two fish-hunting behaviors are clearly associated with distinct groups of venom components, called cabals, which act in concert to modify the behavior of prey in a specific manner. Derived fish-hunting behavior clearly also correlates with physical features of the r

SUBMITTER: Olivera BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4621268 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature