Flamingo Tongue Cowry

Photo: Elkin Meriño Florez · CC BY

Flamingo tongue cowries are abundant on the sea fans and gorgonians at La Piscinita, their unmistakable orange-spotted mantle draped over the white shell making them conspicuous on purple and yellow fan corals. They are specialist feeders that graze directly on gorgonian tissue, leaving behind white feeding scars that are visible long after the cowry moves on. Their density at this site reflects the health of the gorgonian forest, which requires low sedimentation and stable current conditions to thrive.