Flamingo Tongue

Now that I am all well rested from my "staycation" I have lots of pictures and science-y tidbits to share. This amazing photo my hubby took above is of a flamingo tongue (Cyphoma gibbosum). See the brightly colored shell on the sea fan? It's that. Now you will get to learn a little about this amazing creature.

Habitat:
This beautiful snail lives its life hanging around on gorgonian type corals. These commonly are sea fans and sea whips. They are found in shallow waters to depths of about 10m (30 ft.). Its range is the southern Atlantic and Caribbean. This is the area between North Carolina and Brazil.

Family Origins:
This colorful little guy is a gastropod. That means he is a mollusk along with some of our friends the squids, snails, and slugs. They are part of the family that is commonly known as the cowries.

Fun Facts:

• The colors on the shell are not actually on the shell. It is actually a layer of tissue outside of the shell. Once the snail dies, it is really just a plain white or light peach colored shell.
• They cannot survive without coral reefs. They live on and feed off gorgonians (octocorals). Both the flamingo tongue and the coral they feed on are invertebrates.
• Like all gastropods, the flamingo tongue eats with its foot. The thing any snail crawls along the surface with is known as it's foot. They eat as they are moving!
• They have very few predators because, as the brightly colored shell indicates, they are distasteful.
  
• The maximum size is only 1.5 inches.
• They are diurnal (sleep at night) just like us! Well, most of us. :D
• Flamingo tongues are getting more rare as visitors to the Caribbean mistakenly snatch them up for their colorful shells. Now that you all know they aren't really colorful, you won't take them, will you?

I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to yet another animal found here in St. Thomas.

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The Carribbean Reef Squid

fig. 1 Caribbean Reef Squid. Photo in the Public Domain

I went snorkeling yesterday with my hubby at Secret Harbor on the East End and one of the many forms of sea life I saw was the Caribbean Reef Squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea). Now you may not have realized it yet, but I have a thing for invertebrates, so I was inspired to do this post. Plus, I had some groovy lab drawings from a squid dissection that I labeled on the compy for you. If you have any questions about the functions of any of the parts labeled, just let me know so that I can answer any questions for you. This is just the basics of this really alien and beautiful creature.

This squid is commonly found throughout the Caribbean and Floridian waters. They are usually found in shallow waters (1 meter or less) and are commonly seen in schools. I usually see between 5 and 15, but apparently will congregate in groups as large as 40. They are mollusks so, believe it or not, are related to the Queen Conch I posted about last week. Since they are further classified as cephalopods, they are more closely related to octopuses, cuttlefish, nautiluses and more. They are quite pretty and many time I have seen them flash colors at each other or in time. They are very colorful, almost iridescent creatures. The speed of color change in them is quite fast as well. In fact, they can change color much faster than a chameleon.

They swim (or hover) using the fins (click image below for larger view) on the sides of the mantle. If they need to get away quickly, they use a form of jet propulsion. If they still can't get away, they ink.

When they aren't hovering, they eat. They eat a lot. The Caribbean Reef Squid, like most squid can consume almost 50% their body weight in food a day. They are carnivores and eat a variety of prey including crustaceans, small fish, and even other mollusks.

fig 2. exterior of squid

One of the things that makes squid and cephalopods so interesting to study is their fantastic sight. The reason they are so studied is they are not even close to being related to vertebrates, yet process images similar to us. This means that their sight and eyes evoloved independently. The main differences are the ammount of visual pigment. They usually have one, we have three. They pretty much only see in greyscale, which is suprising considering the amazing display of colors they put on for us! There is one exception, however, but we won't complicate things. You can learn more about the coevolution and how their eyes work here.

fig 3. internal anatomy of male squid

Squid are know to be "weed like" in how they grow and reproduce. There are only about 800 species but in terms of production can keep up with fish. This makes fish an incaluable resource globally. The common market squid in Southern California (Loligo opalescens) alone is responsible for about $20 million in revenue a year. That is just the fishery side as well. That does not include uses for its ink, the money made in restaurants that sell it, or the money made from bait and tackle, etc. Due to its fast rate of reproduction, it is alsoconsidered one of the more sustainable types of seafood you could eat. Many questions have yet to be answered though. We don't know where many of these species spawn and just how many are out there. There was a great article published that attempts to show the effects of squid fishereies.

Besides all the info I just gave you, did I mention that they are awesome to swim with? I've only seen them at a few beaches here and absolutely everytime I see them, it's mesmerizing.

I hope you enjoyed my sketches. Happy learning!

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Save the Queen... Conch, That Is!

I put a desktop picture up I found in our underwater photo archives and it's so cute, I decided to do a post on it. Previously known as Strombus gigas and now Eustrombus gigas, it is commonly known as the Queen Conch (pronounced konk) and is the species I will be talking about today.

Conchs are gastropods and means they are closely related to snails and a little more distantly related to squid as squid are mollusks as well. Here in St. Thomas, they can be found in shallow (less than 10 meters) water with sandy substrate mixed with a lot of Thalassia testudinum also known as turtle grass. Yes, it is called turtle grass for a reason and we will save that for another day. I go conching here (not to harvest, but for research) at Brewers Bay by the university. You can see in the picture provided, this guy is hanging out in sand and grass. For more fun, if you click on it, you will see his eyes poking out. Super cute. Anyway...
Most people that know anything about conch know that they will "attack" you. It's sort of true. You see, conch, like many gastropods, have an operculum. This is simply a covering at the bottom of his foot that seals the shell closed. If you have ever looked at marine snails or whelk, you will have seen this. In the conch it is particularly long and claw like. They will use it at times.

Another feature of their anatomy, and arguably the most dominant, are their spiraled shells. Many people are familiar with conch shell horns and the like. They are quite beautifully pink on the inside and are prized by shell collectors. Conchs also produce pink pearls that are very collected.

Locally, they are prized for their meat. We have conch fritters, conch stew, buttered conch and more. It is quite tender and yummy. However, this beautifully shelled animal is threatened. Illegal harvesting has devastated the population of conch in our waters. They are protected in Florida and in the Virgin Islands are harvested only certain times of year and must be a certain size. "Lip-less" conchs cannot be harvested as they are still juvenile. The rules are as follows:

A quota of 50,000 lbs per year. After the quota is reached, the fishery will remain closed until November 1st of the following year. A limit of 200 conch per boat for licensed commercial fishermen. A limit of 6 Conch per person for recreational fishermen and a total of 24 conch per boat. A closed season from July 1 until October 30. All conch must be landed alive and in the shell. No conchs may be possessed which are less than nine inches in length or less than 3/8 inch lip thickness. Fishermen must report their landings monthly to the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Also keep in mind that there are times of year to harvest them. If we don't keep track on what we are doing now, we may not have them to enjoy in the future. They are already in serious decline and that is why these regulation are in place here. In Florida, they are considered threatened now and harvesting is prohibited in the majority of US waters. Even if you see an empty shell, try not to remove it as many species of marine hermit crab use these shells as well. I have reported illegal conching and it is quite easy. Remember, in the continental United States, harvesting is illegal. you can contact any natural resources division in your state. If you are in the USVI you can call DPNR at (340) 774-3320 in St. Thomas and (340) 773-1082 in St. Croix.

You can find out more at NOAA and at your local DPNR website.

Book used as reference:

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