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Species: Haptosquilla glyptocercus

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Click on any image to see an enlargement. All photos © 2005 Roy Caldwell.

Common name: None

Functional type: Smasher

Range: Andaman Sea to Australia, Guam and the Marshall Islands

Habitat: Rocky (shale and beachrock) intertidal and reef flats

Depth: Low intertidal to 10 m; H. glyptocercus can be found higher in the intertidal than any other stomatopod, often occurring just below the mid-tide line.

Home: Cavities in hard substrates including rock, coral rubble and live coral

Diet: Generalist; very small crustaceans and gastropods; picks macro-plankton from the water column

Size: 6–45 mm; usually under 40 mm

Color: Variable; black, green, tan, cream mottle; darker forms, particularly when small with white dots or spots; females usually darker than males

Distinguishing Characters: Crenulated telson; females have red inter-segmental line between fifth and sixth abdominal tergites

Activity: Diurnal

Aquarium Requirements:

Temperature: 22–29° C

Salinity: 33–36 PSU

Cohabitants: Safe except for smallest crustaceans and gastropods

Aquarium size (adult): 10 l

Aquarium substrate: Sand and gravel; requires cavity in rock or coral rubble or pvc tube

Suitability for Aquarium: Excellent; hardy, but rarely leaves cavity; lives 5 years or more in captivity

Availability: Occasionally found as a hitchhiker from Indo-Pacific; easily collected from lower rocky intertidal in northern Australia, Thailand and Indonesia

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