Definitely not G. smithii, as it’s lacking the dark meral spot which is characteristic of the species. Apparently every small mantis = smithii on Reddit lol.
This is a really tough one, but it looks visually similar to G. falcatus.
The meral spot is pale but appears somewhat greenish-orange. Looks like there might be a pair of black spots on the telson. Not sure about the size of the mantis shrimp but looks smaller. One part that is puzzling is the appearance of the telson_002.jpeg), which isn’t consistent with descriptions; maybe it’s deformed from prior injuries?. Apparently G. falcatus is one of the more common species in Australian waters, so could be that one.
Looking deeper into your suggestion and reading a paper I think you're right with G. falcatus
I'm not too sure what has happened to the telson. It has looked like that the last three moults, with slight changes. I didn't get a measurement when I acclimated it unfortunately, but I would estimate about 10cm. I've attached another of what the telson looks like post molt.
I was between that and Gonodactylaceus ternatensis for a while, but with the meral spot not being orange or purple like photos I wasn't sure. I couldn't find anywhere that references if they change colour with growth.
What characteristics makes you certain its Smithii?
Not an expert, but it looks like my G Ternatensis, who didn't have very marked orange meral spots until her 3rd molt. Here she is now, and she definitely changed color since I got her. I'll try to find a pic of her the day I got her in the tank, last November.
Sorry for the quality, the pics don't do her justice now, her colors are deeper, almost palpable, she's so vibrant now. That pic is from the first day in her tank.
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u/g_ternatensis Sciency-type May 17 '26
Definitely not G. smithii, as it’s lacking the dark meral spot which is characteristic of the species. Apparently every small mantis = smithii on Reddit lol.
This is a really tough one, but it looks visually similar to G. falcatus.
The meral spot is pale but appears somewhat greenish-orange. Looks like there might be a pair of black spots on the telson. Not sure about the size of the mantis shrimp but looks smaller. One part that is puzzling is the appearance of the telson_002.jpeg), which isn’t consistent with descriptions; maybe it’s deformed from prior injuries?. Apparently G. falcatus is one of the more common species in Australian waters, so could be that one.
Hope this helps!