here's something i've been thinking about after gonodactylus mentioned peacocks don't use the meral spread often.
out of all the mantis i've seen, peacocks seem to be one with the brightest and most varied color. in addition, they probably have the most powerful smash...
(1) in one paper, it was mentioned that peacock mantis do not engage in "mock battles" that many other smashers engage in, where individuals hit the telson area in a ritualized manner. instead, they use a lot of other signals to establish dominance (?)...if that's the case, what sort of signals, and why did the meral spread "get lost" in the repertoire?
(2) according to divers, at least, peacock mantis tend to rove around the sea floor in a relatively unconcerned manner ....is their varied and very visible coloration a warning signal to other predators (e.g. large fishes) that they are not to be messed around with? it looks like their coloration makes them more visible, not less. many other mantis (e.g. Pseudosquilla ciliata) tend to adapt colors that match their surroundings or make them less visible, but not the peacock stomatopods.
out of all the mantis i've seen, peacocks seem to be one with the brightest and most varied color. in addition, they probably have the most powerful smash...
(1) in one paper, it was mentioned that peacock mantis do not engage in "mock battles" that many other smashers engage in, where individuals hit the telson area in a ritualized manner. instead, they use a lot of other signals to establish dominance (?)...if that's the case, what sort of signals, and why did the meral spread "get lost" in the repertoire?
(2) according to divers, at least, peacock mantis tend to rove around the sea floor in a relatively unconcerned manner ....is their varied and very visible coloration a warning signal to other predators (e.g. large fishes) that they are not to be messed around with? it looks like their coloration makes them more visible, not less. many other mantis (e.g. Pseudosquilla ciliata) tend to adapt colors that match their surroundings or make them less visible, but not the peacock stomatopods.
