Can you ID my little mantis? PIC

One_Divided

Member
I recently found this guy living in a piece of live rock I have in my curing tank.. the rock is from Bali. I'd imagine, he's not the most common species.. He's gettin his own tank soon.. Sorry for the rough pics.. He's only about 3/4 of an inch and I had to use the flash to get enough light for a pic..

mantis02.jpg


mantis01.jpg
 
To be sure of the identification, I would have to see the tail, but from the eyes and general shape and color, I would guess that this is a Gonodactylellus affinis. It reaches a maximum size of just over an inch and generally is found in rubble from 10 to 50m. They live for at least three or four years, perhaps longer. While they are rarely seen, when we collect stomatopods from deep water rubble, this is probably one of the most common species. They occur from French Polynesia to at least Thailand. They also can change color depending on the lighting and color of the tank they are in. Most of the ones that we collect below about 20 m are reddish, but nearer the surface they can be brown or green. Hope this helps.

Ro
 
Cool.. thanks a lot! will he be more interesting looking as he matures? Otherwise, he will probably be banished to the fuge.. heheh..
 
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