I Just got a G. Smithii!
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psychodave
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Gonodactylus
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There are three species of gonodactylid that I know of that have maroon to purple to dark blue meral spots. There are a few others such as N. bahiahondensis that have powder blue spots, but they clearly are different color.
In the Caribbean, N. oerstedii males typically have a maroon to purple spot while females are more grey- purple - almost mauve. You can always tell a female by the small black dots that are found all over the body. (Pure green females may have only a few dots, mottled animals lots.) Males tend to have darker maroon meral spots, but there is considerable overlap with females. Males do not have the black dots, but juveniles have a single line of dots down each side of the body, one spot per segment.
Gonodactylus smithii have purple to dark blue meral spots and the body color usually some shade of green. However, animals from deeper water (> 10 m) are often more brownish red to maroon and the meral spots are maroon. Rarely G. smithii have red intersegmental bands like Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. All G. smithii that I have seen have the red knob at the anterior base of the uropod.
Gonodactylus acutirostris may or may not be a good species. It is very similar to G. smithii although they then to be more mottled with a lot of light cream color mixed with olive to olive brown. Others are mottled green. The meral spots are maroon and they have the red uropod knob. What distinguishes them from G. smithii is the shape of the rostrum, the pointed plate anterior to the carapace. In G. acutirostris the anterior lateral corner of the rostrum project into spines. In G. smithii the anteriolateral corners of the rostrum are more rounded. Also, G. a may be a slightly smaller species. I have only seen specimens that I thought were G. acutirostris from Guam and perhaps Fiji.
Roy
In the Caribbean, N. oerstedii males typically have a maroon to purple spot while females are more grey- purple - almost mauve. You can always tell a female by the small black dots that are found all over the body. (Pure green females may have only a few dots, mottled animals lots.) Males tend to have darker maroon meral spots, but there is considerable overlap with females. Males do not have the black dots, but juveniles have a single line of dots down each side of the body, one spot per segment.
Gonodactylus smithii have purple to dark blue meral spots and the body color usually some shade of green. However, animals from deeper water (> 10 m) are often more brownish red to maroon and the meral spots are maroon. Rarely G. smithii have red intersegmental bands like Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. All G. smithii that I have seen have the red knob at the anterior base of the uropod.
Gonodactylus acutirostris may or may not be a good species. It is very similar to G. smithii although they then to be more mottled with a lot of light cream color mixed with olive to olive brown. Others are mottled green. The meral spots are maroon and they have the red uropod knob. What distinguishes them from G. smithii is the shape of the rostrum, the pointed plate anterior to the carapace. In G. acutirostris the anterior lateral corner of the rostrum project into spines. In G. smithii the anteriolateral corners of the rostrum are more rounded. Also, G. a may be a slightly smaller species. I have only seen specimens that I thought were G. acutirostris from Guam and perhaps Fiji.
Roy
