A couple of comments on what you are seeing. The O. scyllarus is fairly small and actually has a fairly difficult time breaking the shell of theis species and size of crab. Notice that many of the strikes are directed at the legs and claws. O. scyllarus usually try first to take off the major chela as well as the walking legs of crabs. Toward the end you can see one leg flying away. Also, the action only occurs in brief sequences. This is because stomatopods can usually only strike a few times before they have to rest and recover. Typically when killing crabs, you will see three or four strikes in quick succession, then the animal will rest for several seconds up to a minute before attacking again. When feeding on snails, they can pace themselves and strike once every 30 seconds or so.
Roy
