Predatory behavior of the backswimmer (Anisops ogasawarensis) on larval medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Sano, Kosuke; Kurokura, Hisashi

doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2011.04.006

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…Some ambush predators, including snakes, fish and insects (Daniels, 1982;Cooper et al, 1985;Bailey, 1986;Formanowicz and Brodie, 1988;Alfaro, 2002;Bilcke et al, 2006;Hulbert et al, 2006;Ostrand et al, 2004;Sano and Kurokura, 2011) orient their bodies toward the prey so that they can strike quickly and accurately, while also minimizing disturbance to the water around them. Alternatively, some ambush predators, such as copepods that sit motionlessly in the water column to prevent detection by the prey (Kiørboe et al, 2010), are known to locate prey using hydrodynamic cues, which they then exploit to precisely time attacks (Jiang and Paffenhöfer, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strike mechanics of an ambush predator: the spearing mantis shrimp

deVries

Murphy

Patek

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

119

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SUMMARYAmbush predation is characterized by an animal scanning the environment from a concealed position and then rapidly executing a surprise attack. Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) consist of both ambush predators (ʻspearersʼ) and foragers (ʻsmashersʼ). Spearers hide in sandy burrows and capture evasive prey, whereas smashers search for prey away from their burrows and typically hammer hard-shelled, sedentary prey. Here, we examined the kinematics, morphology and field behavior of spearing mantis shrimp and compared them with previously studied smashers. Using two species with dramatically different adult sizes, we found that strikes produced by the diminutive species, Alachosquilla vicina, were faster (mean peak speed 5.72±0.91ms ; mean duration 24.98±9.68ms). Micro-computed tomography and dissections showed that both species have the spring and latch structures that are used in other species for producing a spring-loaded strike; however, kinematic analyses indicated that only A. vicina consistently engages the elastic mechanism. In the field, L. maculata ambushed evasive prey primarily at night while hidden in burrows, striking with both long and short durations compared with laboratory videos. We expected ambush predators to strike with very high speeds, yet instead we found that these spearing mantis shrimp struck more slowly and with longer durations than smashers. Nonetheless, the strikes of spearers occurred at similar speeds and durations to those of other aquatic predators of evasive prey. Although counterintuitive, these findings suggest that ambush predators do not actually need to produce extremely high speeds, and that the very fastest predators are using speed to achieve other mechanical feats, such as producing large impact forces. Supplementary material available online at

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