An evolutionary divergence between stomatopods is described in appearance of the meral spot, which is a dorsal, medial groove on the raptorial merus of the raptorial appendage. Smasher stomatopods, which are species that tend to inhabit cavities within rocks or coral, have brightly coloured meral spots which aid in making the meral spot more visible during these meral spread displays in fights. These bright meral spots possessed by smashers are either yellow, blue, red or white and are outlined by a conspicuous black pigment. Conversely, spearing Stomatopods or some smashing species that do not inhabit rock or coral cavities, have much duller meral spots. This correlation suggests to researchers that habitat and meral spot colouration have co-evolved, and those that inhabit burrows possess these bright spots and those species that do not have dull spots. This demonstrates how ecology and evolution of organisms within the same order directly affects agonistic behaviour.