Gonodactylus smithii, the Purple-Spotted Mantis Shrimp. Image courtesy Dr. Roy Caldwell.
Above: Not all reef invasive species are unwelcome—an unusual form of Gonodactylus smithii, the Purple-Spotted Mantis Shrimp (a smasher), that arrived in Dr. Roy Caldwell’s Berkeley lab via a piece of rock with a cave. Courtesy Roy’s List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium.
REEF HITCHHIKERS will take over the cover of the next issue of CORAL, November/December 2015, with a subheading that reads: The Good, the Bad, the Unbelievable.
From pestilential Aiptasia sp. anemones to smashing and spearing mantis shrimps to baby moray eels, all manner of life makes its uninvited way into modern reef aquariums. Do you have experience with aquatic hitchhikers?
Take a short CORAL Reader Survey today and help our editors shape the next issue and start an online database of marine invasives to be curated by invertebrate zoologist and CORAL Senior Editor Dr. Ronald L. Shimek. Take the CORAL Reef Hitchhiker Survey now ….
