EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Coordinated adaptations define the ontogenetic shift from worm- to fish-hunting in a venomous cone snail

Aymeric Rogalski, S. W. A. Himaya and Richard J. Lewis ()
Additional contact information
Aymeric Rogalski: The University of Queensland
S. W. A. Himaya: The University of Queensland
Richard J. Lewis: The University of Queensland

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Marine cone snails have attracted researchers from all disciplines but early life stages have received limited attention due to difficulties accessing or rearing juvenile specimens. Here, we document the culture of Conus magus from eggs through metamorphosis to reveal dramatic shifts in predatory feeding behaviour between post-metamorphic juveniles and adult specimens. Adult C. magus capture fish using a set of paralytic venom peptides combined with a hooked radular tooth used to tether envenomed fish. In contrast, early juveniles feed exclusively on polychaete worms using a unique “sting-and-stalk” foraging behaviour facilitated by short, unbarbed radular teeth and a distinct venom repertoire that induces hypoactivity in prey. Our results demonstrate how coordinated morphological, behavioural and molecular changes facilitate the shift from worm- to fish-hunting in C. magus, and showcase juvenile cone snails as a rich and unexplored source of novel venom peptides for ecological, evolutionary and biodiscovery studies.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38924-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-38924-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38924-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-38924-5