Cool new mantis.... need an ID though.

[Guygettnby]

i saw this mantis when i went to go buy my peacock and the owner told me he got it from Bali.... it is atleast 4" long and almost completely White. here are some pics i took with my phone.

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo25/guygettnby/mantis2.jpg

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo25/guygettnby/mantis3.jpg

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo25/guygettnby/mantis.jpg

very cool looking and seems to be very active. reminds me of a peacock in almost every way but the color. i will try to get some better pics of it soon.

[JokerGirl]

Looks like O. japonicus

[lionbacker54]

+1 on japonicus

[Guygettnby]

ok, were are you getting this ID from? did a search on that name and came up with nothing so far. i guess i am missing something here.

[Guygettnby]

NVM, i found all i need to about this guy. very interesting species of mantis. so far acts exactly like a peacock and is very active day and night. went right into a premade PVC burrow and is happy as can be. so far has ate hermits, snails, krill and silversides.

[gozermantis]

make sure you use a low intensity blue bulb. they live in deeper water.

[Gonodactylus]

I've never seen one from Bali. All the O. japonicus on the market recently have been from Sri Lanka. There behavior is much different from O. scyllarus. They swim more, require more space in a tank, and are much more likely to kill fish.

Roy

[prunfarm]

Did you get this in Ft. Washington, by chance?

[Guygettnby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15078269#post15078269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gonodactylus
I've never seen one from Bali. All the O. japonicus on the market recently have been from Sri Lanka. There behavior is much different from O. scyllarus. They swim more, require more space in a tank, and are much more likely to kill fish.

Roy

wierd, this one acts exactly as my other peacocks have acted. wonder if it is going to start acting differently once it gets more settled in. as far as it being from bali, thats were the shop owner said he got this shipment from.... so im kinda curious if he was mistaken or if they also live there.

[Guygettnby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15080247#post15080247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prunfarm
Did you get this in Ft. Washington, by chance?

what store are you talking about?

[Gonodactylus]

They occur through out the Indo-Pacific, but I have never heard of one in the Indonesia pipeline. In the past three months, I have heard of 8 coming into the U.S - all from Sri Lanka. This is probably because they are collected on open bottoms at depth. This is not the usual collecting mode in Indonesia.

Roy

[prunfarm]

Roozen's.

[MantisO_o]

Congrats! Looks just like mine and size as well. Kudos! : )

[Guygettnby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15083392#post15083392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prunfarm
Roozen's.

nah, not from there. although i did see 1 there and it looked great. i bought my peacock from there though. did you pick the one up from roozens?? i was thinking about going back and getting that one as well. they really do get some crazy looking stuff in there!

[prunfarm]

I've picked up several from there. They are hit or miss w/ their stock. I have to go back and see if they still have it, so I can try to help Dr. Roy

[Mrs. Suzy Smith]

He looks transparent.wow, can you get a better shot? I've never seen one like this before

[Gonodactylus]

I've posted several photos of O. japonicus.

Roy

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/5463O_japonicus_female_swimming_2_med-med.jpg

[Koshmar]

Ah yes, the famous flying mantis pic. Makes me smile everytime.

On a seperate note but still within the bounds of the thread, Dr. Roy, is the distribution of stomatopod species "set-in-stone" so to speak. Meaning that, although I know you specialize in stomatopods and are a scientist, is it possible that certain species could be living in areas in which you do not know of? An example of this is when I inquired from my lfs owner about the origins of the Squilla rugosa which I have, he said it was captured somewhere in the region of Bali. He seemed pretty certain of this because the supplier he gets his livestock from had no reason to even go near the Gulf of Mexico at that time. It could be a simple mistake of information but still the question stands in general.

Is it possible that known stomatopod species could be in regions other than those reported?

[Gonodactylus]

Range extensions happen all the time, but usually within certain constraints. Recently I collected Odontodactylus latirostris in Moorea. That extended its know range several thousand miles east. However, it was still in the Pacific basin. I know of no Squilla species that occurs in both the Atlanic and the Pacific or Indian Oceans. If it is S. rugosa, it is from the Atlantic.

O.K., so much for dogma and never say never. Ten years ago I was involved in the discovery of a Coelacanth in Indonesia. Until 1938 it was thought to have gone extinct 80 million years ago. Then it was thought to be found only off the East African coast. So if you had asked me before 1998 if coelacanths occured in Indonesia, I would have said absolutely no - and I have would have been wrong. If you asked today if Squilla rugosa could be from Bali, I would say absolutely no.

And that reminds me of a phone call I received a few years ago from a high school biology teacher who said that he had a stomatopod from Tamales Bay north of San Francisco. It was caught in commercial oyster beds. I said that there was no way that a stomatopod would be found north of Point Conception. Well, he convinced me to come and take a look and it was indeed an adult Pseudosquillopsis marmorata, a species previously know only for the Sourthenrn California and Mexico coast.

Roy

[Nightwitch]

That flying japonicus picture is fantastic! It's my new desktop background.

[nikesb4l]

haha same here