Purple-spotted Mantis Shrimp
The purple-spotted mantis shrimp (Gonodactylus chiragra) is a smasher mantis shrimp of Indo-Pacific shores, with a green-brown body and purple spots on its club. It lives in burrows and crevices in coral rubble.
The purple-spotted mantis shrimp (Gonodactylus chiragra) is a smasher mantis shrimp of Indo-Pacific shores, with a green-brown body and purple spots on its club. It lives in burrows and crevices in coral rubble.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Purple-spotted Mantis Shrimp in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Smashing Club
The raptorial appendage is a club which it swings with spring-loaded force to break snails and crab shells. Like the peacock mantis shrimp, it strikes in a fraction of a second. See Peacock Mantis Shrimp.
Territorial Fights
Mantis shrimp fight over burrows with ritualized displays and strikes onto each other's armored tails. Individuals recognize rivals and avoid repeated fights.
Eyes and Vision
They have complex eyes with many types of receptors. See Spottail Mantis Shrimp.
Purple-spotted Mantis Shrimp at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Gonodactylus chiragra |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Stomatopoda |
| Family | Gonodactylidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Mandibulata (Mandibulates) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Mottled green reef crustacean with club-like folding forelimbs that smash snail shells with the force of a bullet; stalked eyes with many color receptors. |
| Order | Stomatopoda |
| Type | Smasher |