slasher mantis
- Thread starter 79Yota
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Do you mean "spearer". I coined the neames "smahers" and "spearers" many years ago in a Scientific American article, but I can't think of any stomatopod that is a slasher which to me implies cutting with a sharp blade. There are some early fossil stomatopods that had such a blade (we don't know how they used it). The only other species that I can think of that comes close is Hemisquilla californiensis. It does have a dactyl and is a bit sharp. There are also a couple of lysiosquillids that have modified dactyls shaped like hatched blades. They "chop".
Roy
Roy
Dr. Roy, isn't ensignara and californiensis the same animal? I remember seeing both applied after the hemisquilla at one point. I could be(probably am) wrong.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/hemiejh.htm
-Ron
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/hemiejh.htm
-Ron
majestic sea life
New member
I will be getting a female Pseudosquilla ciliata tomm. and that is a spearer mantis. I will take lots of pics for you.
~Brian
~Brian
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Ron,
Hemisquilla has a long history of names. Originally the genus was Pseudosquilla, but that was changed to Hemisquilla many years ago. The type specimen was from Chile and was called "ensigera". People started using that for the California animals as well, but there are some references to stylifera. About 20 years ago, it was recognized that there were probably four Hemisquilla. H. braziliensis was given species status and Hemisquilla ensigera was split into three subspecies - californiensis, ensigera, and australiensis. In 2001, Shane Ahyong split them into good species, so the animals from Southern California and Mexico down to Panama are now Hemisquilla californiensis. Those from South America are H. ensigera.
From my looking at the specimens, this is clearly a correct call. They differ on several counts.
Roy
Hemisquilla has a long history of names. Originally the genus was Pseudosquilla, but that was changed to Hemisquilla many years ago. The type specimen was from Chile and was called "ensigera". People started using that for the California animals as well, but there are some references to stylifera. About 20 years ago, it was recognized that there were probably four Hemisquilla. H. braziliensis was given species status and Hemisquilla ensigera was split into three subspecies - californiensis, ensigera, and australiensis. In 2001, Shane Ahyong split them into good species, so the animals from Southern California and Mexico down to Panama are now Hemisquilla californiensis. Those from South America are H. ensigera.
From my looking at the specimens, this is clearly a correct call. They differ on several counts.
Roy
