Odontodactylus scyllarus is not a common species at Kwajalein. After many years of diving there, we finally saw our first two specimens exposed on the steep seaward reef slope at 30-40m depth sometime in the 1990s. After that, we saw no more until 15 October 2001, when we discovered one on a shallow lagoon reef at a depth of about 6m, where it was peeking out a hole under a rock. We returned to this spot only occasionally, usually seeing one of these shrimp, until 25 July 2004, when we found half a dozen or more making dens in rubble. On a visit in November 2006, several of the shrimp were observed with eggs. After that, we saw no more shrimp in this area (although we did occasionally find dens with no apparent occupants) until 2 January 2017, when one more was spotted on the same shallow reef. In the interim, we did have one other sighting on the top of a large, flat-topped lagoon pinnacle near Kwadak Island. These are large smashing stomatopods, growing up to about 18cm and capable of breaking the hard shells of clams and gastropods with their extremely fast striking raptorial club. There have even been reports of this species striking and breaking the glass of aquaria within which they are kept.
Stomatopods carry their eggs on their chest until hatching. The photo below was taken in Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
A den built from small rocks leading under a colony of Porites coral.
Created 15 July 2018