Meeting Abstract
Strategic application of force is often necessary to break open hard-shelled prey and access the food inside. Smashing mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) break open shells using a series of high impact hammering strikes, yet it is not known which morphological cues they use to target particular regions of the shells. We investigated the morphological features that determine where mantis shrimp strike prey. To do this, we used 3D printed, hollow cylinders to simplify the potential cues present on a real snail shell. Each cylinder had a small hole at one of 3 locations, which was filled with food. We filmed 35 individual mantis shrimp (Neogonodactylus bredini) each processing one of the three shapes and analyzed strike locations. We found that despite the presence of food at the variably-placed hole, only 19.7% of the strikes occurred near the hole, whereas 45.9% of the strikes occurred away from the hole (34.4% unresolved locations). Regardless of hole location, on average, 49.4% of the strikes occurred along the rims of the cylinder, 17.4% of the strikes occurred along the cylinder’s long axis, and 1.7% of the strikes occurred on the flat faces of the cylinder (31.5% unresolved locations). These results suggest that the rim of the cylinder serves as a morphological cue for mantis shrimp, but that the hole or presence of food may not. This study demonstrates that simple models can be used as tools to uncover the relevant cues and strategies that mantis shrimp and other animals use for strategic processing of hard-shelled prey. This approach has timely potential in this new era of 3D printing capabilities with different materials and shapes.
