Cyphoma gibbosum (flamingo tongue snail shell) (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) 8

Description:

Description: English: Cyphoma gibbosum (Linnaeus, 1758) - abapertural view of a flamingo tongue snail shell from the Virgin Islands. Gastropods are a group of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial molluscs. Many of them (the snails) make a calcareous, coiled, external shell, which is used for protection from predators. Flamingo tongue snails feed on the soft tissues of octocorals. During life, the shell is partially or wholly enveloped by mantle tissue. Shells are glossy, whitish-colored, sub-planispirally coiled, and lack a spire. The mantle tissue is usually pale-colored with brown-outlined, yellowish-orange patches. Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Ovulidae Locality: offshore St. Thomas, western Virgin Islands See info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamingo_tongue_snail. Date: 17 January 2022, 20:04:31. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/52168379960/. Author: James St. John.