clown mantis a spearer
- Thread starter goldberg
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rwhhunt
New member
The raptorial appendage has three main parts, the upper "bicep" part, the lower clubing portion, but the club itself can fold out like a knife revealing a very sharp serrated blade on the innerside of the dactyl. I have never seen the dactyl "disengaged" or folded out such to display the sharp serrated side of the dactyl (except when I was playing with the discarded molted appendage out of the water). HOWEVER, last week I saw him pop it open and clean it. I dont believe it takes much "knowledge" to know where the tasty part of a fish lies. Granted this was many many months ago, and I was not as keen on stomatopod anatomy as I am now, I can say with confidence that he was extremely particular with eating the fish and left me a very uniquely eaten carcass to remove from his tank. He left the head, backone and tail connected together, but the flesh and meat had all been removed. I cannot say for sure he used the dactyl to slice the fish open, but I did see "something" apparently cutting or slicing the fish's stomach-it could have been one of his claws, but I am not sure... It seems if he has the capability, he might as well utilize it.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Almost all smashers will extend the dactylus and stab or spear a soft opponent or prey. THis is why when people are struck, they are usually stabbed. I've been hit literally hundreds of times and I would say that well over half drew blood because the dactyls were extended.
It is fairly common for an O. scyllarus to stab something and have the propodal-dactyl joint break. When this occurs, the dactyl cannot be folded back into its groove. Usually the animal will rip off the broken appendage to begin the regeneration process, but not always. They can go weeks with the dactyl extended.
One of the things I dislike most in the aquarium business is finding collectors, shippers and wholesalers who deliberately remove the dactyls so that the stomatopod will not puncture the shipping bag. This is fairly common and I refuse to deal with these suppliers again if I think they know what is going one. Last spring I received a shipment of 8 O. scyllarus from Bali with the dactyls of each animal removed.
Roy
It is fairly common for an O. scyllarus to stab something and have the propodal-dactyl joint break. When this occurs, the dactyl cannot be folded back into its groove. Usually the animal will rip off the broken appendage to begin the regeneration process, but not always. They can go weeks with the dactyl extended.
One of the things I dislike most in the aquarium business is finding collectors, shippers and wholesalers who deliberately remove the dactyls so that the stomatopod will not puncture the shipping bag. This is fairly common and I refuse to deal with these suppliers again if I think they know what is going one. Last spring I received a shipment of 8 O. scyllarus from Bali with the dactyls of each animal removed.
Roy
ReefGeekster
Premium Member
Gonodactylus said:
Will they actually puncture the shipping bags? Will the dactyls grow back? I can see how that is inhumane and I would protest it in a heart beat.... though is the mantis safer shipping this way?
You think a small mantis could be shipped in a Chineses take out container with a small amount of water they seem to do fine with liverock with no water just damp newspaper.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I've had animals as small as an inch puncture bags. However, it is relatively easy to protect against this. The most obvious solution is to visually isolate animals from one another. Many suppliers use bags that are opaque on the bottom half or simply wrap newspaper around the outside of the bag. If you have two stomatpods that can see one another through the bags, there is a pretty good chance that one will try to strike the other. This will often be a stab and result in a leak.
I usually go one step further. I either ship animals in plastic "cubitainers" which are very difficult to puncture or I place the animals in bottles with lots of holes drilled into them. For small animals, we use 30 ml vials. For larger animals, I often use water bottles. For something as big as a 12 in Hemisquilla, a liter spring water bottle cut in half and then sewn back together with the animal inside works well.
Dactyls will regenerate, but it can take three molts and several months.
Roy
I usually go one step further. I either ship animals in plastic "cubitainers" which are very difficult to puncture or I place the animals in bottles with lots of holes drilled into them. For small animals, we use 30 ml vials. For larger animals, I often use water bottles. For something as big as a 12 in Hemisquilla, a liter spring water bottle cut in half and then sewn back together with the animal inside works well.
Dactyls will regenerate, but it can take three molts and several months.
Roy
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