The vibrant orange with black flamingo tongue snail-Cyphoma gibbosum-is always a fun find in Caribbean waters. Don't let this 1inch mollusk fool you; the colors you see aren't part of the shell, but the mantle. The mantle is living tissue that normally covers the shell and can be retracted when the animal is threatened. Unfortunately, Cyphoma gibbosum is becoming increasingly uncommon throughout the southern Atlantic and the Caribbean due to the over-collection by snorkelers/scuba divers.
