Divers Find Flamingo Tongue on the Reef

Waving his arm and trying to use his dive light to signal his dive buddy and wife Elsa, Brent was finally successful. Swimming nearer to see what all the commotion and arm waving was about, Elsa too noticed what had got Brent so excited. Sea Turtles are Brent’s favourite animal to come across next to sharks. Their clumsy gracefulness is a delight to watch. The patterns they display on their shells is nothing less than artwork. To come across another beautiful but much smaller creature on the same dive was outstanding. This second creature turned out to be more spectacular in its own way that Brent and Elsa expected.This was something new for both of them. Both being avid scuba divers from Vancouver British Columbia they are use to seeing different varieties of marine life while being below the waves, but this little creature seemed extra special to Brent. Diving along the reef near Grand Cayman’s East End Brent noticed a tiny snail looking creature with white, yellow-and-black markings that camouflaged it fairly well. This beauty was roughly an inch long in size. Pausing for a short time to video this amazing looking animal, which Brent thought was another marine creature called a nudibranch, he was quite astounded how beautiful it was. Keeping in mind that those very brilliantly coloured little creatures in the sea are poisonous, Brent was careful not to be pushed into the sea fan from the surging currents. Usually in male-female pairs munching on their favourite foods of gorgonians and sea fans, this one appeared to be solo at the time. Do not, however, assume these harmless-looking creatures are, in fact, without bite, as they actually are poisonous and show their toxicity via the bright colours on their shell. As most women will say regarding gifts “big things come in small packages”. This is also true with many beautiful and amazing creatures in the ocean. Flamingo Tongues are actually one of the major predators on gorgonians. When inspecting the sea fans closely you can often see trails behind them showing where the Flamingo Tongues have been feeding. Being snail-paced they might seem easy pickings for predators, and are a favoured food item of the Giant Hogfish but as mentioned the Flamingo Tongue is well defended. Since this little guy feeds on the toxic coral being the gorgonian it is able to concentrate the toxic chemicals from the coral into its own tissues, which it then wraps around the outside of its shell. But there is no point being poisonous, unless you advertise the fact, and the Flamingo Tongue displays bright warning colours of its toxicity. It is often a surprise to divers to learn that the shells of Flamingo tongues are actually white, and it is the spotty mantle, the layer of living tissue that the snails wraps over its shell, that gives it its colour. The mantle also allows the snail to breath, by absorbing oxygen from the water. What an amazing creature!