Invertebrate Gallery

SND02105

Hermit crab
Dardanus sp.
Hermit crabs are shell-less creatures that use dead shells for protection. As hermit crabs grow, they must exchange their shell for a bigger one. Suitable empty shells are not always available and hermit crabs frequently fight over an attractive shell. Scientists have even see hermit crabs size up each others shells and then make a swap, but this is rare.
New South Wales, Australia

© Becca Saunders/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Smashing mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), New South Wales, Australia

Smashing mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) usually lives in a burrow with only the head revealed. It is an aggressive predator and this one might be on the hunt. The back legs with their feathery skirts, the pleopods, are used for swimming and fanning the gills. Its strike is potent and can break a finger bone if handled. North Solitary Island, New South Wales, Australia

© Mark Spencer / AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria)

Barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria), one of the largest sponges on coral reefs, and diver. Cannot be differentiated on any morphological basis, eg spicules, growth form, etc. from the well-known Caribbean barrel sponge Xestospongia muta, but the two sponges have chemical differences indicating they may be separate species. Walindi Plantation Resort, Kimbe Bay, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

© Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE All rights reserved