peacocks: do they all start out the same?

[Ron Popeil]

there is a small 3 inch mantis shrimp at a store very close to my house. the owner claims its a peacock mantis, and i admit it does have some similarities.

but of the three 5 inch peacock mantis shrimp ive seen, the colors have been intensely bright...all greens reds and white and blues very bright.

but this little guy is almost darker, with the reds being more subtle.

will this mantis color up? will it get the bright colors of all the other specimens ive seen or remain sort of...dull?

thanks for your help.

 

[rwhhunt]

no, usually the colors will fade or remain the same depending on your lighting scenario...

 

[Ron Popeil]

so even though the little mantis he claims is a peacock is a dull green and with more faded colors...it wont get any more intense as it ages and increases in size?

 

[Gonodactylus]

Odontodactylus scyllarus (peacock mantis) have species typical markings a month or two after they settle out from the plankton. I have a couple of 40 mm animals that I collected and they are clearly identifiable as O. scyllarus even though the background body color is variable from yellow or brown to green. The red -orange appendages, blues and reds of the uropods and particularly the characteristic spotted pattern on the carapace are all the same as in a 5 inch adult. Typically the only shift (in the field) of color is the move to olive in females and green in males. In short, a juvenile O. scyllarus looks just like a small adult. From your description, I would say the animal in question is something like a male Gonodactylus chiragra.

By the way, did anyone ever figure out how to tell a sexually mature male from a female (besides the body color and genitalia)? Like I said before, if you know what to look for, you can sex these animals from across the room.

Roy

 

[Ron Popeil]

ah, excellent information roy, thank you very much. i also was thinking it just might be another species, so im going to assume it is.

ill wait for a more for sure thing. thanks again for your help!