G. chiragra? Identification help?

[shanebeall]

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had been looking for a mantis for a few months, and my brother picked one up for me.

The store didn't know what type it was, but from looking at the identification guide on GrimReefers, it seems to me that it's a male Gonodactylus chiragra.

The pictures I have are grainy because of all the junk in the water (I brought him home in a plastic container with live rock so he'd feel comfortable.) Let me know what you all think it is!

If I have identified him correctly, I've named him John Galt. Eh?

 

[Gonodactylus]

It is a male G. c. Notice the stab wound on the right merus. These guys are highly aggressive and often have wounds from fighting other stomatopods.

Roy

 

[shanebeall]

Yeah, I noticed the little hole after posting the picture. Will it go away after a few molts? Not worried about it at all...he's obviously alive.

I've got him in a tank with two hermits and two snails right now. He keeps picking the hermits up and throwing them, then when they start to move, he does it again. He also does flips. He's a bad ***.

 

[Gonodactylus]

The stab wound will be gone after one molt - nothing more than a dimple. G.c. are tough. It takes a lot to do them in - except for shell disease. Be on the watch for a brown, rusty discoloration of the cuticle. It is more common in males, but still relatively rare in G. C..

Roy