Page 79 - Caribbean Reef Life Demo
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FLAMINGO TONGUE
(Cyphoma gibbosum) < 2.5 cm / 1 in
Pale elongated shell is wider in the middle. Creamy mantle has oran e s ots circled in lac often co erin the shell.
The Flamingo Tongue is often mistaken for a nudibranch, but it actually has a thick white shell covered by a colorful mantle. The bright spots act as a warning to potential predators that they are toxic; poisons from the gorgonians they feed upon have been stored in the esh. A small specialized serrated mouth-part, the radula, scrapes living tissue from the gorgonian until the underlying skeleton is exposed. They rarely eat so much that the colony dies. Instead, they use a powerful foot to move on to the next gorgonian, ensuring a food source for the next generation.
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Mating takes place on a lunar cycle, with the males extending a small tube under the female’s shell. Eggs are laid on the exposed skeletons of their food source. After the eggs hatch, the free- oating larvae will feed on plankton until they are large enough to feed on gorgonians.
