Possible i.d. ?

[noidster]

Well to start i dont have a camera to take any pictures so I just though i would post to see if gonodactylus or anybody else might have an idea on the species of mantis shrimp i have just aquired. There is something very odd about this species and this is why i hope to get an id with out a picture. It has several rows of spikes on its telson (well what i think is its telson) it is the area just at the end of its tail. The shrimp is a light almost translucent yellow color and is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. It almost looks like the shrimp has an afro on the end of its tail. lol. Well i dont expect much but if anybody has any ideas please post. THanks

Noidster

[Gonodactylus]

My first thought was Echinosquilla which has a telson that mimics a sea urching, but the spines in this species are very large and really look like a sea urchin. They are not arranged in rows. Also, the body color is usually red and white, not pale yellow as you describe. Echinosquilla does get to 4 inchs. What shape are the eyes? Are they bilobed or simply globular? Do they shine at night when you shine a flashlight on them?

There are several species of Corinida and Neocorinida that have what looks like heavy, stiff velcro on the telson. I can't remember off of the top of my head if any get this large, but I have seen yellow ones.

Roy

[noidster]

Thanks for the response Dr. Roy,
Well actually the spines on its tail are not exactly arranged in rows that was just the way i used to describe them. They do look kind of like an urchin but the spines arent very long. The spines are about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch long with the longest ones being in the center. The eyes are like that of my Lysiosquillina Maculata and not like a Odonodactylus scyllarus. They are definetely not globular. It is not night here but i got the room pretty dark and the eyes dont seem to shine. Oh yeah it is for sure a smasher as well. Thanks again Dr. Roy.


Noidster

[Gonodactylus]

Sounds like Echinosquilla guerini, common from Hawaii to the Indian Ocean. It typically lives from 20 to 100+ feet in rock cavities and worm tubes in solid substrate. Generally they are crepuscular. You just don't see them in the field until sunset. This is one of the few stomatopods that I know that seems to make part of its living eating other stomatopods.

Roy