South Padre Mantis

[don-n-sa]

Took a trip to South Padre Island Texas. The local fishermen call these guys "sea lice". They come up in their nets frequently.

Thought I would share some pics...looks like Lysiosquillina glabriuscula to me.

 

[justinl]

man, that is a SWEET mantis! so did you get that one live from the local fishermen then? how long has it been in your tank?

i dont know what it is, but i dont think it is a L glabriuscula at any rate... missing a few of the defining characteristics of L glab. im sure someone will know what it is though.

 

[helipilot]

GREAT pics! Beautiful and interesting mantis.

 

[iCam]

Pretty cool. I never saw any mantis shrimp down at South Padre, but plenty of other neat critters.

 

[TMPoften]

that thing is sweeeeeeeeeet, how big is it?

 

[seahorsedreams]

Good god above. I lived in Corpus Christi and use to shrimp for my seahorses in the mud flats. I wish I had of caught one of those...... but I bet it could have frightened the pee out of me.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Wrong genus.

Lysiosquillina glabriscula has fewer fewer spines on the dactyl (6-7), a broader antennal scale that has dark spots in the center, and has a smooth telson. Also, it has not been recorded west of Florida.

This animal is Lysiosquilla scabricauda. The telson is rough (particularly in females), the antennal scales are more narrow and do not have a dark center spot, and it has 9-12 spines on the dactyl. This is a very common species from South Carolina and Bermuda to Texas and throughout the Gulf of Mexico south to Brazil. Maximum size is around 27 cm.

Roy

 

[TMPoften]

The Lysiosquilla Scabricauda is not on Roys list is it? If they are found commonly, are they just not sold in LFS often?

 

[Doc Hammer]

HAHA, the last picture is funny. Look in the upper right hand corner of the picture and you'll see a very worried fish.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Lysiosquilla scabricauda is certainly much more widely distributed and can reach high densities, but I have listed only those species that I have personally seen for sale in the trade and have photographed.

Roy