Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp, Lysiosquilla manningi

Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp, Lysiosquilla manningi. Length: 16 cm (6.2 inches). Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Phylogeny: The Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp, Lysiosquilla manningi (Boyko, 2000), is a stomatopod, and member of the Lysiosquillidae Family of  Spearing Mantis Shrimps. the majority of larger species of mantis shrimps are in found in this Family.  Lysiosquilla is one of two genera in this Family, and it is composed of sixteen species. This species is also known as Ray Manning’s Lysiosquilla and in Mexico as estomatópodo de manning.  Spearing mantis shrimps  are also known as “thumb splitters” because of their ability to cause injury if handled improperly.

The Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp is a recently described species and earlier sources sometimes conflate it with other species such as the Queen Lizard Mantis Shrimp, Chloridella dubia, for which Lysiosqulla desaussrei is a synonym. This may lead to some inaccurate reports related to size and distribution.

Morphology: Manning Striped Mantis Shrimps are fairly slender in build. They are light to dark gray in color, with black bands the anterior margins of their tail segments. The raptorial claws are white. They have a rounded telson, with minor serrations along its posterior margin. Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp reach a maximum of 17.5 cm (6.5 inches) in length.

Habitat and Distribution:  Manning Striped Mantis Shrimps reside in deep burrows in sand and mud substrates at depths between 1.5 m (5.0 feet) and 50 m (160 feet). In Mexico they are a resident of the Pacific and found the central Sea of Cortez south along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.

Diet:  Manning Striped Mantis Shrimps are ambush predators, feeding on small fish and other small soft-bodied invertebrates.

Predators:  Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp are prey for a wide variety of large bottom-feeding fish.

Reproduction:  Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp  are gonochoric (either male or female for life). They reproduce sexually. The males have sperm ducts, rather than spermatophores. The females can produce tens of thousands of eggs. The females carry the eggs until they hatch. Once the eggs hatch the hatchlings drift around as plankton for a few months before settling to begin their benthic life.

Ecosystems Interactions: Reports of Brown Mantis Shrimps sharing their burrow with other species, or of other forms of commensalism has not been documented.

Human Interaction:  While many species of mantis shrimps are consumed as a human food substance, Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp populations  are too sparse to be targeted as a food species. They are caught as a bycatch by shrimp trawlers which may have some impact on local populations. From a conservation perspective they are currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations.

Synonyms: The Manning Striped Mantis Shrimp was first described in the year 2000, and there are no synonyms for this species.