More than 70 species of cone snails are found in the warmer waters of Australia, several of which are known to be dangerous to man. They are attractive shells, and may be picked up by children or visitors to the reef who may be unaware of the danger. Cone snails are predatory gastropods that live in shallow reef waters and kill their prey with venom which they inject via a strucure called a radula, which is a small harpoon-like tooth.