Pacific triton hunts and eats crown-of-thorns starfish

The Pacific triton (Charonia tritonis, also known as the “giant triton”) is a large marine snail that inhabits coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They feed on echinoderms, and are particularly fond of crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral-eating starfish that occurs in outbreak proportions on the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere. Despite the COTS sharp spines and having a highly toxic coating (saponin), tritons are highly effective COTS hunters, as shown in this video, taken at AIMS' Townsville facility.
For more information on AIMS research into the Pacific triton and COTS, head to: ow.ly/dRV3302yKns

[@nozyspy4967]

Snail thing: "I don't want you to feel any pain. In a moment, you'll begin to feel light-headed, then drowsy. Don't resist, it's so gentle, like slipping into a warm bath" Starfish: *Muffled screams*

[@procrastinator41]

😆

[@vwvqr]

Hot

[@yourbandsux]

I can see the triton going “shhhhh, this is nature just let it happen” as he is slowing strangling the starfish which is making muffled noises trying to scream for help.

[@Dexuz]

Kinky

[@jabetaguiluz7322]

I need someone to make that into a comic strip

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

I can't watch that scene from Saving Private Ryan.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

*FBI notes your location* 😜

[@johnherbert1431]

​@@DKNguyen3.1415hahahaha exactly what I thought of

[@uwumarii]

Its insane how the snail's soft body adapted to not get poked by the toxic thorns. Its like playing rock, paper, scissors and paper would win against scissors. Doesn't make sense yet here it is

[@Le_Blnk____]

They are no way that soft they feel like rubber

[@KoolRanqe]

If Chewbacca lives on Endor you must equit.

[@charlielynes]

​@KoolRanqe Chewbacca is a Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk... why would he live with a bunch of 2 foot Teddy bears on Endor..? It just doesn't make sense

[@ParleLeVu]

@@charlielynes Ladies and gentleman of this "supposed" jury

[@charlielynes]

@@ParleLeVu You know the drill. 🫡 👨‍🦱🐻🐖

[@DrewPicklesTheDark]

How tough am I? How tough am I? I had a crown of thorns starfish for breakfast! Yeah, so? ...Without any teeth. Oh, right this way!

[@ericvandenavond8748]

They actually have a radula (tooth-covered tongue) for scraping food. Herbivore snails have more rounded teeth for scraping algae while carnivore snails (like the triton) have more pointy teeth for scraping meat.

[@user-lq4ct6dr5m]

I think eating COTS is already enough to be qualified into the big man's club

[@demonking86420]

​@@ericvandenavond8748 Imagine if a triton did eat a COTS With a dull radula He'd have so much rep he'd buy the Salty Spittoon

[@annazero09]

I did my thesis on COTS sadly there are only a few COTS predators, and those predators are harvest by humans

[@beastwarsFTW]

I think we had to make killbots to compensate the lack of Pacific Tritons

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

@@beastwarsFTW We did.

[@daisymaddie8503]

It’s not sad. The Crown of Thorns Starfish are known to devour Coral Reefs. So, good riddance to COTS.

[@TheNazareo]

​@@dweebteambuilderjones7627 that exist!?

[@damazywlodarczyk]

like you know or anyone knows what's there in the ocean, get over yourself

[@chimyshark]

can't tell which one is creepier tbh. the sea star is devilishly spiky and venomous and has a bad rep, but the triton smothers you with a soft fleshy foot and injects you with a harpoon all while hiding in an innocent-looking seashell.

[@aishathnabaha4107]

lmao ikr!!

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Considering how big COTs get, triton is probably not so innocent looking aswell.

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

Crown of thorns kill corals 😡😡

[@the_undead]

The the starfish eat coral and the snail eats the starfish so I'm going to say the starfish

[@TheGweedMan]

Thanks for using the correct term “sea star”.

[@Langodan]

COTS: I fear no man But that thing *Giant Triton* it scares me

[@viscourtroy]

they can control the coral destroyers!

[@Minecraft_2008.]

Smaller snail: I ain't talking about that freak alright? He's not here is he? HOW DO YOU GET THIS **** THING OFF (Knocks down camera)

[@nikiTricoteuse]

Wow. It seems incredible that something with such an apparently soft body can consume something that seems so well defended. I'd love to know how long it actually took and whether the triton exudes something to soften the thorns.

[@dfleck9210]

Being soft is the actual trick to not get cut or poked. Land snails can traverse a razor blade with just the help of being soft and mucus, so I guess the Triton just is incredibly soft and its mucus is doing its job, which is lubrication. There's no softening of the thorn happening.

[@nikiTricoteuse]

@@dfleck9210 Makes sense. Thanks for the added info.

[@TheUndeadslayer221]

Robots that were programed to hunt Crown of Thorns starfish inject the the starfish with bile to kill them, so that might be how the snail kills the starfish.

[@nikiTricoteuse]

@@TheUndeadslayer221 Seriously? They can hunt them with robots?

[@knox7945]

​@@nikiTricoteuseyeah. The Triton is in the endanger zone because of people harvesting them, so scientists made a robot to combat the crown of thorns using cow bile.

[@bezretmet]

crown-of-thorns starfish: i'll evolve into a sharp prickly uneatable nihgtmare that no one will prey on! triton: yum! exotic food!

[@anamericangrizzlybear8315]

Triton: *Nothing personal kid*

[@bertberw8653]

Psshh, nothing personnel, kid

[@polpich]

Just wonder, how long was the entire eating process in the clip?

[@AustralianMarineScience]

Great question. The sequence above is a timelapse taken over about an hour or so. The entire eating process isn't shown, so this would take even longer.

[@polpich]

thank you.

[@barrocedrickdominiqi7375]

MEE

[@unethicallyvoid2888]

@Arthur B. Jammin’ what the fuck! Lolol

[@PatHaskell]

I think they can eat/kill 1-2 week.

[@snake6700]

And yet the snail is harmless to humans.. crazy cool

[@kontraksionista]

No. You can get killed by sea cone snail, please avoid them while diving

[@theorangeoof926]

@@kontraksionista Referring to the Pacific Triton snail, it is harmless to humans.

[@ethantan9434]

Looks like we found the heroes for the great barrier reef!

[@yanregis]

Thank you for the video. Crown of thorns are known to be poisonous. What makes the griant triton protected from the cot's spine and poison?

[@milfhunter5491]

Yan Regis their skin seems pretty soft but its actually kinda leathery so it doesnt get pierced by the spines that easily

[@JacopoSkydweller]

And their body is immune to the toxin, so I'm sure they get stabbed but he's like naw blud I'm good.

[@goldenface2688]

The starfish almost looks like a hand reaching up in desperation when snail grabs it.

[@adonisdelima17]

Gary wants to eat cookies in Patrick's pocket

[@padscouring1752]

Did the Snail swallow all of the crown-of-thorns starfish? or just absorb its body liquid?

[@AustralianMarineScience]

The snail swallows all parts of the starfish, including the spines and other hard parts of the starfish's body. However, the spines are not digested. They come out the other end eventually.

[@padscouring1752]

thanks a lot !

[@VerSaati]

Australian Institute of Marine Science fuck...dude than must be one painful shit

[@giantnuclearlizard4582]

@@VerSaati no shit

[@irateamatsu]

@@VerSaati lol

[@procrastinator41]

COTS: “Boy, I’m so excited. I bet you remember everything from when you got made, huh, Triton ?” TRITON: “Yeah”

[@josephalley2475]

GARY NO

[@leemilica]

Joseph Alley hahhahaa LMAO I am dead 😂😂😂😂😂

[@LINKKART8]

WHO ELSE IS HERE BECAUSE OF COYOTE PETERSON

[@ellieval206]

LINKART SMOKE guilty haha

[@david4925]

LINKART SMOKE don't read my mind like that

[@mat-sh9pl]

Yea

[@johnwall9899]

Lmaooooo on meee

[@EseJandro]

LINKART SMOKE 👌 🔥 💯

[@yuukisama2001]

I don't know which is scarier the fact that starfish eat clams or giant snails that can eat the largest starfish. Shows you that snails aren't the cute little shelled creatures in your garden. Even they can be a deadly predator.

[@theimperiumofman102]

I still want to pet it

[@yuukisama2001]

@@theimperiumofman102 UH NO!

[@Kevin-hx2ky]

This starfish eats coral btw

[@theimperiumofman102]

@@Kevin-hx2ky it eats everything and puts rabbit breeding speeds to shame.

[@Kevin-hx2ky]

@@theimperiumofman102 That's because they don't breed; they *spawn*

[@monicapushkin3274]

This is absolutely astonishing to watch.

[@dahammer044]

"somebody spiked my dinner" - the Triton, probably

[@nightponyinrface6009]

0:14 It just wanted to give a hug

[@KS-hj6xn]

Similar big pink snails in the Bering Sea. I bet they do the same thing! Amazing!

[@starsilverinfinity]

“Michael, Michael don’t leave me here!”

[@chrisbabaero5147]

Crown of Thorns: ""OMG are you eating me""? Sea Snail: Nah...was just pulling your leg"" 🤣

[@myrical4147]

I wonder how long the "digestion" takes.

[@Kranto808]

What is the song playing?

[@Dexuz]

How is the sea snail not getting poisoned with the thorns?

[@HarunoSoul]

It's body is immune to the toxin.

[@StellarDrag0n]

I was wondering the same thing xD

[@FyterianTV]

I just thought it could phase through objects XD

[@demonking86420]

@@HarunoSoul as well as the soap defense that the crown of thorns does, the triton isnt affected the slightest

[@giantnuclearlizard4582]

Idk

[@cesarepierozzi-oboe7981]

Thank you, Barbascura X ❤️

[@michaelmccarthy5166]

Did it just eat the main body? There's still a lot of that star left.

[@OrionoftheStar]

What's the point of all the spikes, then?

[@Hollyfreeholly.]

Are those thorns from the star fish not stiff and sharp ?

[@apdroidgeek1737]

The actually are, the slime protects the snail from it though

[@biersch]

Imagine looking as metal as a crown of thorns and then getting murked by a snail.

[@SusanSharma-WildbytesTV]

Amazing video.

[@buddyb4343]

Talk about indigestion! Or does that count as roughage?

[@IrisBobaTea]

What's the title of the song in the video?

[@AustralianMarineScience]

The song is "Raising awareness" by Ben Beiny

[@robertwelles8935]

Bless the Triton, I have a beautiful shell collected in the Societies when the specimens were large and complete end

[@RoleyChiu]

Gastropod wins.

[@mushy213]

ummm ow?

[@Rasulkarteron]

That was INCREDIBLE to watch

[@hrdyrbn]

the savior of corals

[@RadSco]

By eating and destroying some areas of old coral, the COTS gives space for new coral to grow. It's when the COTS grow way beyond sustainable numbers that mass destruction of coral reefs happen.

[@giantnuclearlizard4582]

@@RadSco yes and that is why god create THE TRITON to eat COTS CROWN vs TRITON

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Isnt it weird/or not how nature is always in balance, and were the only one that is literally out of equation like the nature didnt expect for us to be this way lol.

[@apdroidgeek1737]

But i gues nature intended to control our own number thus why were always at war.

[@viscourtroy]

yeap!!!

[@jorgerobles628]

The Triton snail tells COTS "Resistance is Futile...."

[@SupremeSkeptic]

"What's slower than a snail?"

[@TheElectroboy]

ok but what is this music?

[@AustralianMarineScience]

Raising awareness by Ben Beiny

[@TheElectroboy]

@@AustralianMarineScience thanks mate!

[@vickinsonraka434]

I have three of the Triton shell

[@viscourtroy]

do not purchase more, they can control the starfishs.

[@dnx103donna7]

Watching this to show to my Kids the Real Crown of Thorn Starfish . Octonauts taught them about this.

[@TrueSolunar]

Mareanie and Toxapex: O.o Corsola: ^w^

[@ThePerpetualStudent]

Straight out of the movie "Aliens."

[@fordmodelT1957]

Bruhhhh starfish straight got violated 💀💀💀

[@ZacCarpenter]

The thumbnail is like a mushroom assassin taking out a giant hand. 🍄🤚

[@EarthAdventures-Indonesiauq8ju]

"We have a 45 cm Triton Shell, perhaps you know the address of the buyer?"

[@catmousepad7342]

This reminds me of the T. Rex vs. Stegosaurus fight in Fantasia for some reason.

[@travisinthetrunk]

The snail didn’t hunt the star; it was fed to it.

[@DieFlabbergast]

"Mmm! Toxic thorns! Yummy - my favourite!"

[@sky173]

Wow, I'm watching the end of Prometheus, but in real life.

[@kyrejm2489]

Gary ate patrick

[@mmz12]

I've never seen a marshmallow eat a cactus before.

[@naturefondernature]

The BGM is really a noise!

[@psykickinsekt1909]

This is where Lovecraft got his ideas

[@mattchew-lz4jg]

are they doing more research into breeding these snails and repopulating them into the oceans in an attempt to control these starfish?

[@AustralianMarineScience]

Increasing triton numbers on the reef may help to naturally suppress COTS numbers, however breeding tritons remains very challenging, and much more research is needed before any are released.

[@Th0ughtf0rce]

​@AustralianMarineScience were the tritons overfished? For consumption?

[@KatharineOsborne]

New nightmare unlocked.

[@PrincipledNaturalLaw]

Gives me indigestion just watching it lol

[@SamuelHallEngland]

Don't cut COTS in half anymore!

[@robertkarp2070]

Forget it echinodermata, the mollusk is hungry.

[@edbergevercide3074]

Satisfying

[@jamess5415]

That COTS just got its wig split

[@paulgirtu2463]

That starfish doesn't look like it can fit within the snail's shell. And it has no visible appendages for cutting in case the snail could cut the starfish into little pieces. So are starfish really squishy and the snail just crams the whole thing in it's guts? Or maybe it uses it's mantle/foot(idk) to surround the starfish like a blanket, bathe it in digestive juices and then when the starfish's organs are weakened enough the snail can just pull them away?

[@RadSco]

Other way around, it's the snail that's really squishy and flexible.

[@giantnuclearlizard4582]

Well LEGEND has it it is triton secret

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

Snails have toothy tongues that let them scrape up little bits of food.

[@sliceofbread2611]

the hug of death

[@dimitrisgonatas2264]

A carnage in geological timeline

[@genesisthunder5065]

O il buy this tritons and put it in my beach cause there are crown of thorns so i use triton to eat them

[@giantnuclearlizard4582]

Good idea

[@ralphmalph5191]

I'm never going in the ocean again.

[@FishTankEnjoyer]

Gary!!

[@bjb7587]

Hey, leave some for somebody else!

[@outtakontroll3334]

holy hell

[@boacarta]

I have to review the hugs I recieve

[@ちんあなご-j3x]

数あるホラガイ動画の中で最も恐ろしい動画

[@Spectator007]

Dude did that snail just stick out a tusk???

[@coryd4160]

I went to school with a kid that ate a pinecone.

[@invisible8741]

Gary don’t eat Patrick

[@bearsnevergiveup]

Doesn’t thumbnail look like a guy playing guitar?

[@m.oudekerk63]

sea snails are the million dollar snails that will hunt you down

[@rave400v6]

"I likes ya and I want ya."

[@viscourtroy]

Good work Giant Triton, 💪, please eliminate the coral monsters more!

[@zzghzgjxhgjzxhgxjhgx2976]

rip thorns

[@telacrap]

See, Omastar does beat Toxapex one-on-one

[@joeyj6526]

It's like a horror movie 😅

[@badgerp-chanqueen7707]

Actually it was slowest chase in world

[@AlanTGP1]

Tasty Planet

[@sethleoric2598]

GARY NO!

[@lolliz8342]

I can’t when it comes to slugs and snails I keep creeped out

[@WilyTuber]

How in the hell does ANYTHING eat THAT?

[@setysamson2630]

Imagine having that snail as a pet

[@viscourtroy]

let they control the coral destroyers more!

[@psychiatry-is-eugenics]

.

[@no-wg7zc]

🦂

[@procrastinator41]

A nightmare’s nightmare

[@careyamos485]

Nom nom nom

[@ray4237]

om nom nom

[@reimufumofan4195]

Thats awesome if that snail ate the crown of thorns.THANK YOU SNAIL!