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Mantis shrimp are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (from Ancient Greek στόμα (stóma) 'mouth' and πούς (poús) 'foot').

Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known.

Mantis shrimp typically grow to around 10 cm (3.9 in) in length, while a few species such as the zebra mantis shrimp can reach up to 38 cm (15 in). Mantis shrimp widely range in colour, with some species mostly being shades of brown, while others have multiple contrasting, vivid colours.

The appendage differences divide mantis shrimp into two main types: those that hunt by impaling their prey with spear-like structures and those that smash prey with a powerful blow from a heavily mineralised club-like appendage. Mantis shrimp are commonly separated into distinct groups (most are categorized as either spearers or smashers but there are some outliers) as determined by the type of claws they possess: This is the type found in most mantis shrimp. The species Gonodactylus smithii has the fastest strikes reported for any species of mantis shrimp species, with a speed of 30.6 m/s (110 km/h; 68 mph) and an acceleration of 1.5×105 m/s2.

Mantis shrimp are thought to have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom and the most complex front-end for any visual system ever discovered. Compared with the four types of photoreceptor cell that humans possess in their eyes, the eyes of a mantis shrimp have between 12 and 16 types of photoreceptor cells. Over the years, some mantis shrimp species have lost the ancestral phenotype, although some still maintain 16 distinct photoreceptors and four light filters. These colour filters allow the mantis shrimp to see with diverse colour vision.

Six species of mantis shrimp have been reported to be able to detect circularly polarised light, which has not been documented in any other animal.

The eyes of mantis shrimp may enable them to recognise different types of coral, prey species (which are often transparent or semitransparent), or predators, such as barracuda, which have shimmering scales. The mantis shrimp instead uses the different types of photoreceptors in its eyes to perform the same function as the human brain neurons, resulting in a hardwired and more efficient system for an animal that requires rapid colour identification. Humans have fewer types of photoreceptors, but more colour-tuned neurons, while mantis shrimp appear to have fewer colour neurons and more classes of photoreceptors.

Mantis shrimp are long-lived and exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting, or by the use of fluorescent patterns on their bodies for signalling with their own and perhaps even other species. Mantis shrimp are typically solitary sea creatures that may aggressively defend their burrows, either rock formations or self-dug intricate burrows in the seabed. Mantis shrimp can be diurnal, nocturnal, or crepuscular (active at twilight), depending on the species. Mantis shrimp live in burrows where they spend the majority of their time. In the monogamous species, the mantis shrimp remain with the same partner up to 20 years.

Stem-group mantis shrimp are assigned to two major groups the Palaeostomatopodea and the Archaeostomatopodea, the latter of which are more closely related to modern mantis shrimp, which are assigned to the clade Unipeltata.

The mantis shrimp is eaten by a variety of cultures. In Cantonese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is known as "urinating shrimp" (Chinese: 瀨尿蝦; pinyin: lài niào xiā; Jyutping: laai6 niu6 haa1) because of their tendency to shoot a jet of water when picked up. In the Mediterranean countries, the mantis shrimp Squilla mantis is a common seafood, especially on the Adriatic coasts (canocchia) and the Gulf of Cádiz (galera). In the Philippines, the mantis shrimp is known as tatampal, hipong-dapa, pitik-pitik, pilantik, or alupihang-dagat, and is cooked and eaten like any other shrimp.

Quick Facts

• Mantis shrimp typically grow to around 10 cm (3.9 in) in length, while a few species such as the zebra mantis shrimp can reach up to 38 cm (15 in).
• Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known.
• Stem-group mantis shrimp are assigned to two major groups the Palaeostomatopodea and the Archaeostomatopodea, the latter of which are more closely related to modern mantis shrimp, which are assigned to the clade Unipeltata.
• Mantis shrimp widely range in colour, with some species mostly being shades of brown, while others have multiple contrasting, vivid colours.
• Mantis shrimp are commonly separated into distinct groups (most are categorized as either spearers or smashers but there are some outliers) as determined by the type of claws they possess:

Source material: Wikipedia - "Mantis shrimp". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.