Yellow mantis ? ?

[Drew_P]

My LFS has a mantis shrimp for sale, he/she is about 4" long, and yellow/gold color over entire body including his "eye stalks".

What type of mantis is it.

I have did some searching but cant find any pics of another one like him.

The owner of the store says, they are pretty common, and that is is a "slasher" not a "crusher" ?

Does anyone have any info they could share,
Thanks in advance.

DAP

[Gonodactylus]

The common spearing species, Pseudosquilla ciliata sometimes shows up as a yellow gold morph. I had one about a year ago. I kept it in a green algae encrusted tank and within a few months it turned green. P. ciliata has the ability to change color and pattern, but it usually takes a few months and one or more molts. We don't understand what conditions promote the change to the solid orange color, but I suspect it is low visibility, silt laddened water. It is not uncommon to find P. ciliata burrowing in muck and I have seen orange ones in areas like the Lembeh Straight.

Roy

[Gonodactylus]

Orange P. ciliata from Indonesia.

Roy