Ɛpsilon

From Robert Damon   12 October 1877

4, Pulteney Buildings, | Weymouth.

12 Oct 1877

Dear Sir

You may recollect my name as a correspondent many years since when you were engaged with the Cirripedes—1

A missionary from the S Seas has sent me a shell (Conus geographus) the animal of wh. he says is poisonous to such a degree as to have killed to his knowledge two persons &c2

Further, another missionary Rev W Gill in a volume “Life in the Southern Seas” repeats in substance the same testimony.3 Could you inform me if these testimonies has been corroborated by yourself or other scientific observers as I cannot but think it is an error— We know that many mollusks & other marine animals do under certain conditions poison when eaten, but in the case referred to mere contact always more or less poisons according to my informant

I should feel obliged if you cd. give me your opinion

I am Dear Sir | Yours truly | Robert Damon

1
No previous letters from Damon have been found, and his name does not appear in CD’s books on cirripedes.
2
The sea snail Conus geographus, found in Indo-Pacific regions, is venomous; it fires a harpoon-like tooth into its prey and releases a potentially fatal mixture of toxins (Bücherl et al. 1968–71, 3: 374–84).
3
William Wyatt Gill reported on a fatality from a shellfish sting in Life in the Southern Isles (Gill 1876, pp. 274–5). Gill mistakenly identified the sea snail as Conus textile not Conus geographus (Bücherl et al. 1968–71, 3: 375).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11182,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11182