Mantis Shrimp

The Deadliest Shrimp

The ocean's most badass shrimp

This what happens when nature mixes a mantis and a shrimp

This marvelous crustacean is known as the Mantis Shrimp, scientifically known as stomatopods. There are over 400 species of mantis shrimp each coming in a variety of color from neon colors to brown. They are commonly 30cm (12in) long but some have been found to be up to 40cm (15.7in) in length. They spend most of there time however hiding in burrows waiting for prey.

Supervision

The mantis shrimp is mostly known having vibrant colors and powerful claws, but another ability it possess is extremely powerful eyes. A human eye has 3 color receptive cones that can see variants of Red, Blue, and green. The mantis shrimp has 16 color-receptive cones...16.. To imagine how powerful this is, imagine a rainbow, it is formed from three colors, or how our eyes see it as, now imagine a rainbow created from 16 different colors, it would be an explosion of color. Not only can it see multiple colors but can see polarized light and multispectral images

The hunt

This hunter has so many ways to kill, I will break it down over the next bit of photos. There are to types of groups, one that uses "club" like appendages or spear like claws to kill. I will start off with the smashers. The shrimp will use multiple methods to kill its victim. An example is this crab in the gif, it will blast at the crab to sever the crabs claws. It will then proceed to amputate the limbs until it is dead. Talk about overkill. These smashers use their clubs to smash open clams, crabs, and snails.

The Speed

In order to sever a crabs claw, the shrimp attacks with such force that its claws travel at a velocity equal to a gunshot from a .22 caliber rifle and strikes its prey with 1,500 newtons of force. If a human could throw even a tenth of what the shrimp can do, we could throw a baseball straight into orbit. It moves so quickly that it causes water around it to boil, creating these bubbles, when these bubbles pop, they create an underwater shock wave that can kill prey even if it misses the target. It is so loud, you can hear the bash from outside a glass aquarium. In fact there had been reports of Mantis shrimp breaking the glass on aquariums with a single blow.

The Spearers

The next group of killers relies on ambushing its prey with long appendages covered in barbed tips to stab and grasp. They lash out with lightning fast speed and snag their prey before they can realize what hit them. They prefer to prey on softer creatures like fish rather than clams and crabs. They also prefer to stay hidden in holes and grab their prey as they swim by.

ITS A TRAP!

As I was researching this creature i discovered you can BUY them! The prices range, but it is around $50 US dollars. Just be warned! They do not play nice with other fish, they will kill them all, they are very aggressive. Also make sure you have strong enough glass as they will try to bash there way out at first.

Hope you enjoyed!

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sources http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp
http://www.mesa.edu.au/atoz/Mantis_shrimp.asp
http://dept.lamar.edu/biology/Belize%20study%20abroad/critter%20pages%2012/MANTIS%20SHRIMP%20WEB%20PAGE.htm