Interactions
The Flamingo Tongue Snail is an ectoparasitic gastropod. Gorgonian coral serves as a host to C. gibbosum. This gastropod shares its habitat with a multitude of other species such as fish, bivalves, sea turtles, sponges, and many more (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2013). Humans have damaged the reefs with water pollution and overfishing, while climate change kills off the coral with rising ocean temperatures (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2013). When it feeds on the tissue of the coral, it can potentially kill it if the gastropod feeds on the coral long enough (Howard R. Laskerl, Mary Alice Coffroth 1988). The Flamingo Tongue Snail has very few predators because its mantle is inedible thus it is ignored by most fish, but it is prey to some predators such as the pufferfish and Caribbean spiny lobsters (PURA VIDA Divers 2012). One of C. Gibbosum's biggest threats is actually uneducated divers who do not realize that the shell only appears to be spotted when the gastropod is alive (Marine Invertebrates of Bermuda 2007).