PORT PHILLIP BAY


Martial Mantis Shrimp 

Distosquilla miles (Hess, 1865)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Dorsal surface smooth. Eye with bilobed cornea, broader than stalk, outer lobe longer than inner. Rostral plate ovoid, apex rounded; median carina absent. Carapace without anterolateral spines; median carina absent. Mandibular palp absent. Dactylus of raptorial claw with 4 teeth; carpus dorsal carina entire; merus without outer inferodistal spine. Thoracic somite 5-7 single, lateral processes rounded. Abdomen with numerous additional longitudinal carinae. Telson dorsal surface with numerous carinae either side of the median carina; submedian teeth with movable apices. Uropodal protopod with inner margin lined with spines; lobe on outer margin of inner spine rounded, margin concave or straight. Abdominal somites 2 and 5 without dark median and submedian rectangular patches dorsally.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Hoplocarida
Order:
Stomatopoda
Family:
Squillidae
Genus:
Distosquilla
Species:
miles

General Description

Carapace without anterolateral spines. Dorsal surface of telson with numerous longitudinal carinae either side of the median carina. Posterolateral margin of carapace entire, not deeply excavate. Sixth segment (propodus) of raptorial claw pectinate, without row of erect spines, without distal tooth; last segment (dactylus) of raptorial claw with 4 teeth. Thoracic somites 5-6 with single lateral process. Up to 15 cm long.

Biology

Mantis shrimps are active, aggressive, burrowing elongate crustaceans with a pair of well armed front legs, independently mobile eyes and a spiky tail plate. The common name stomatopod is sometimes used, after the Order Stomatopoda to which they belong. They live in burrows or under stones and are aggressive predators.

Habitat

Usually from the shore or shallow subtidal, often in association with algae, seagrass and detritus, to 1040 m.

Soft substrates

Seagrass meadows

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including southern Australia.

Species Group

Prawns, shrimps, lobsters › Mantis shrimps

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

15 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 721

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Martial Mantis Shrimp, Distosquilla miles, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 24 Apr 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5550

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