Flamingo Tongue Snail in Cozumel

A small snail on a sea fan, covered by a living mantle patterned in bright orange leopard spots ringed in black. The shell underneath is plain cream — the pattern is the animal, not the shell.

Quick ID

Where You Will See It In Cozumel

Flamingo Tongue Snail works the 9 to 82 foot band. On this island that means the sheltered west-coast reefs, and the shallow east-side entries when the sea is flat — these are the sites where the depth and the habitat line up for it.

Without a boat. It is worth looking for at Coral Princess, El Islote and El Mirador — all shore entries, so you dive them on your own schedule.

On an ordinary beginner boat dive. It should be within reach at Yellow House, Yucab, Casa Blanca, Chankanaab Bolones and Columbia Shallows. No advanced certification needed.

Deeper, and on the walls. It is also plausible on Tormentos, Villa Blanca Wall, Barracuda Reef and C-53 Wreck.

Conditions change the odds more than the site does — the current, the time of day and how much the group has already stirred up the sand. Ask your guide what they have been seeing that week.

Behaviour

Feeds on soft coral tissue, leaving visible grazing scars on the fan. The fan usually regrows. The spotted mantle can be retracted into the shell entirely.

Commonly Confused With

• Fingerprint cyphoma — Fingerprint cyphoma has maze-like black lines rather than discrete ringed spots.
• Nudibranchs — Nudibranchs have exposed gills and no shell underneath.

Diving Etiquette And Safety

Never pick one up to photograph the shell. Removing the animal from the fan kills it, and the famous pattern disappears the moment the mantle retracts.

Part of the Cozumel marine life guide · see Cozumel dive sites · plan your Cozumel dive trip

Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.