Biology and ecology of venomous marine snails / Ramasamy Santhanam, PhD.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Santhanam, Ramasamy, 1946- author.

Series:

Santhanam, Ramasamy, 1946- Biology and ecology of marine life book series

Biology and ecology of marine life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Conidae.

Poisonous shellfish.

Physical Description:

xii, 393 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oakville, ON ; Waretown, NJ : Apple Academic Press, Inc., [2017]

Summary:

Here is the first comprehensive volume exclusively on marine cone snails, providing descriptions of over 100 species of hazardous marine snails along with their biological and ecological characteristics. The book details the characteristics of conotoxins; provides valuable information on cone snail injuries and their treatment along with prevention measures; and discusses the therapeutic and medicinal value of conotoxins, including as a powerful nonaddictive painkiller, an epilepsy drug, and more. The book includes many illustrations to accompany the text for easy identification, Marine snails form the dominant component of molluscan faunas throughout the world's oceans. There are about 600 different species of cone snails found distributed in warm and tropical seas and oceans worldwide, and the greatest diversity is seen in the Western Indo-Pacific Region. Cone snail venoms such as conotoxins and conopeptides show great promise as a source of new and medically important substances. The synthetic version of the conopeptide called ziconotide has been approved as a medication in the United States by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and is in current use as an analgesic (pain reliever). Conantokins, which are a family of conopeptides found in cone snail venom, serve as "sleeper peptides," and these peptides work by a mechanism that may be helpful for people with epilepsy. Several medicinal benefits have been identified from marine cone snails, and this book will be an invaluable resource for students and researchers of disciplines such as fisheries science, marine biology, and zoology. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 Biology and Ecology of Venomous Marine Snails 5

3 Profile of Venomous Marine Snails 17

4 Conotoxins 351

5 Envenomation of Cone Snails 359

6 Therapeutic Uses of Cone Snail Venoms 365.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Santhanam, Ramasamy, 1946-, author. Biology and ecology of venomous marine snails.

ISBN:

9781771883306

1771883308

OCLC:

962321841