rudy Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Bled like crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 ok ...ouchiesssssss. What happened, pray tell.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Holy crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Seahorse Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Ouch! Nasty! Why did it attack you? :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted August 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) I took it out of the tank in a net. He whacked me and it broke the skin. Strange and as soon as it hit me I was bleeding like that as if you look at the first pic I was taking a pic of the mantis...next thing I knew I was taking pics of my bleeding hand! By the way that is a very small mantis. Couple inches at best. I can't imagine a big one! Edited August 18, 2006 by rudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Cool. Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcy Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 "HOLY CRAP I DONT NEED ONE OF THEM" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcy Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 OK HAD TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS THING WAS NOW I SEE. I HAVE NO WORIES HAVE NO SALT BUT WOW WILL NOT BE GETTING ANY OF THOSE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molino Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 OUCH!! That little :cuss: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 ouch. guess that's the one con to keeping one of the coolest species out there. that was a "clubber" shot right? if so, i wouldn't want to see what a spear could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Cingrats...always amusing to share one's first 'blooding'...that must have sting a bit. Never been nailed by a stomatopod myself, but I have plenty of snake and lizard bites to my credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 WOW Tim, Wicked Makes me want one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted August 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 WOW Tim, WickedMakes me want one!! Say the word. I got two for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted August 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Here is a cool explantion from Dr. Roy on what happened. G. smithii are some of my least favorite stomatopods to handle. I get stabbed my them more than by any other species (except possibly Neogonodactylus austrinus). I do have a hypothesis as to why. G. smithii is a reef flat species that spends a fair amount of time moving in the open. One of its major predators are octopus. It doesn't do much good to smash an octopus, but a stab can be effective. I suspect this is why when caught, G. smithii are more likely to stab than smash. Years ago before they were common in the aquarium trade, I found a local importer who had a large blue-ring (H. lunulata). I bought it for a lot of money and spent several days photographing it. I decided to video tape a predation sequence of a blue-ring killing a stomatopod. I had a fairly small G. smithii about 50 mm and figured it would make a nice colorful prey item. The octopus was about 30mm mantle length. I set the stomatopod up in a cavity and introduced the blue-ring. It quickly detected the stomatopod and started to approach. I expected the G. smithii to flee and the H. lunulata to chase it down, but that didn't happen. The stomatopod lunged at the blue-ring and stabbed it with both dactyls right between the eyes killing it almost instantly. Expensive lesson learned - the stab of a G. smithii is nasty. The reason the stab produces so much blood and subsequent bruising to your hand has to do with the shape of the dactyl tip and the speed at which it impales you. The terminal spine of the dactyl is quite thin, but has a bit of a hook on the tip. This causes it to catch in soft tissue and be driven straight into the flesh causing a puncture rather than a slice. At the speed and force that it stabs you, massive local hematoma occurs. The fact that the dactyl tip is barbed doesn't help as more damage is done when the dactlyl is pulled out. The entry wound is only about a millimeter in diameter, but the volume of macerated tissue along the route of the wound is much greater as is evidenced by the bruising the next day. Sorry! Didn't mean to go off on such a tangent, but stomatopod wounds are near and dear to me. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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