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Species: Lysiosquillina lisa

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Click on any image to see an enlargement. All photos © 2009 Roy Caldwell.

Common name: None

Functional type: Spearer

Range: Andaman Sea to Papua New Guinea

Habitat: Dark volcanic sands

Depth: 10–30 m

Home: Large, u-shaped burrows

Diet: Fish, shrimp, crabs

Size: To at least 32 cm

Color: Transverse reddish brown and cream stripes, antennal scales cream with reddish brown patches in center, setae on maxillipeds and walking legs orange, meral spot white, telson with dark brown median and submedian patches

Distinguishing Characters: Bilobed eyes with white spots, raptorial appendage dactyl with 9–10 teeth, unusual reddish brown color

Activity: Almost never leaves burrow, hunts day and night from burrow entrance, lives in monogamous pairs

Aquarium Requirements:

Temperature: 22–28° C

Salinity: 33–36 PSU

Cohabitants: Will eat fish, crabs, shrimp

Aquarium size (adult): 20 cm adult, 120 l

Aquarium substrate: Sand bed at least 1.5 times as deep as the animal is long

Suitability for Aquarium: Highly specialized requirements; hardy

Availability: Rare; typically only adult males are captured and sold

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External Anatomy and Explanatory Notes