Beckylee Rawls unknowingly picked up a live cone snail in a Japanese tidepool, only to later discover she had handled one of the most venomous marine animals on Earth—with no known antivenom.
At a Glance
- A woman found a live cone snail during low tide in Okinawa, Japan.
- The snail’s venom can cause paralysis and respiratory failure.
- Cone snail stings have no available antidote and can be fatal.
- Rawls posted the encounter on TikTok, gaining over 24 million views.
- Experts warn beachgoers to never touch cone-shaped shells.
The Beautiful Assassin
The cone snail is a slow-moving predator armed with a highly specialized harpoon-like tooth capable of injecting a cocktail of neurotoxins into its prey—or into an unsuspecting human hand. Known scientifically as Conus, this group of mollusks includes over 600 species, many of which possess venom strong enough to kill humans within minutes. The Ocean Conservancy warns that no antivenom exists for cone snail stings due to the extreme complexity of the toxins involved.
The deadliest variant, Conus geographus, has earned the nickname “cigarette snail,” based on the macabre saying that victims have just enough time to smoke one cigarette before succumbing. According to Wikipedia, the venom targets the nervous system, causing paralysis, respiratory arrest, and potentially death.
Viral Encounter with Death
Beckylee Rawls, a 29-year-old traveler, encountered the cone snail while exploring tidepools in Okinawa on June 11, 2025. Thinking it was just a beautiful shell, she held it in her hand for half a minute and only later noticed movement inside. Her viral TikTok video, which now has over 24 million views, shows the live snail’s fleshy siphon retracting into the shell—a telltale sign the animal was not only alive but potentially preparing to strike.
Rawls described four days of mounting fear after realizing the danger she had been in. “I was Googling night and day,” she told People, referencing her frantic search for symptoms and survivor stories. Online forums like Reddit erupted with similar close calls and warnings.
A Global Warning Echoes
The incident has reignited warnings from marine safety groups worldwide. “If it’s a cone, leave it alone,” became the rallying cry as Fox News picked up the story, emphasizing that even a single sting from some species can cause death in under five minutes. Australian officials echoed the danger after a similar incident in Western Australia prompted a Daily Telegraph report urging beachgoers to keep hands off shells entirely.
Public health officials are now advising extreme caution around tidepools and coastal areas. Many cone snails are indistinguishable from empty shells at a glance, making them especially dangerous to curious children and shell collectors. Experts stress that even minimal contact can trigger the snail’s harpoon strike if the animal feels threatened.
Let Rawls’ viral terror be a warning: nature’s most mesmerizing treasures can be its most lethal.
