Mantis Shrimp Wounds

[Gonodactylus]

Aggressive species that live in high densities often inflict serious injury on their opponents. A quarter or more of adults have such wounds. I recently received this adult male Neogonodactylus wennerae (6 cm) that displays a classic double stab wound on the merus of the right raptorial appendage. (There is also a stab wound on the top of the thorax and the animal is missing its right antenna and antennal scale.) These injuries are caused when the opponent (another large N. wennerae) strikes with both raptorial appendages extending the dactyls to impale its antagonist. They are usually not fatel unless a body blow penetrates the heart, nervous system or a major blood sinus.

Roy

 

[porky]

Very cool pic thanks for posting!

 

[Gonodactylus]

Another type of wound

Another type of wound

Here is another N. wennerae that was smashed in the meral spot of the left raptorial appendage. The brown fracture is healing.

 

[dc]

Definately wicked little guys aren't they?

 

[grampus]

what ever happened to ritualized fighting and armored telsons, these jerks are going in for the kill! i thought that in smashers esp stronger ones, ritualized fighting always took place?

 

[Gonodactylus]

There is a lot of use of threat and armor, but in many of these populations densities are high and cavities are in short supply, so fights are frequent and sometimes they escalate. If you consider that the average intermolt interval is 4 months (time for wounds to accummulate) and there is just one fight a day - a low estimate - there is ample opportunity see this level of wounding even if just one fight in 300 resulted in injury.

Roy

 

[grampus]

on the subject isn't there a shrimp that offensively deficates in order to forcefully remove a cave's inhabitant? i want one of these!

 

[Gonodactylus]

I described such behavior for Haptosquilla glyptocercus. THis is a very common, small low intertidal species found throughout the Central and Western Pacific.

Roy