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Species: Odontodactylus cultrifer

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Click on any image to see an enlargement. All photos © 2006 Roy Caldwell.

Common name: None

Functional type: Smasher

Range: The Andaman Sea, China, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia to New Caledonia and Australia

Habitat: Open, soft, sandy substrates, "muck"

Depth: 7–50 m

Home: Simple u-shaped burrows

Diet: Unknown; probably crustaceans, bivalves and annelids

Size: 20–125 mm

Color: Body light olive to brown with bluish highlights; antennal scales yellow at the base, purple at the tip; uropods blue at the base, red distally; keel of telson reddish

Distinguishing Characters: Very large gobular eyes; telson with median carina extended into to a thin, blade-like upright keel larger in males than in females. The keel and other parts of the cuticle are strongly polarized and shows bright red when seen through a polarizing filter

Activity: Unknown, but occasionally seen by divers out of its burrow during the day; very active during the day in the aquarium, remains in its burrow at night

Aquarium Requirements:

Temperature: 22–28° C

Salinity: 33–35 PSU

Cohabitants: Unknown

Aquarium size (adult): 80 l

Aquarium substrate: Cohesive sand in which to dig or pvc pipe for burrow

Suitability for Aquarium: Fair; seems sensitive to water parameters; the dramatic polarized color patches make it an interesting species

Availability: Rare; occasionally occurs in shipments from Indonesia and the Philippines.[If you see one of these animals for sale, I would very much appreciate your contacting me since I need more to finish up some research on signaling]

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External Anatomy and Explanatory Notes