One of the most curious crustaceans that deserves your attention is the mantis lobster. For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to this animal. It is a crustacean that belongs to the Malacostraca class and order Stomatopoda. It is also known by other common names such as lobsters, shrimps, marine mantises, and tamarutacas. They are known worldwide for their distinctive and unusual characteristics, as they bear the same name as the praying mantis insect. It also has a aggressive behavior similar that has led to it being given that name.
In this article you will know everything about the mantis shrimp. We'll explain it to you in detail.
Key features
It is a crustacean whose name It derives from the insect known as the praying mantisOne of the main similarities it has with this insect are the front limbs with a functional raptor, used for hunting. In addition, it has a high capacity for power camouflage with the environment that surrounds it, so its survival instinct is quite high.
You can appreciate the polarized light and react to it. Among the most notable features are its enormous protruding eyesWe find it in different sizes, ranging from 30 to 38 centimeters. With that size and such a striking appearance, we're talking about an animal quite feared by those around it.
It has a shell which also covers its head as well as the first 8 segments of its thorax. Thanks to this shell, it can protect itself from bites, blows, and any accidents it may have. Its coloration differs from other relatives such as the king lobster and the blue lobster in that it is very varied. We find different types of colors ranging from red, orange, green, purple, blue, brown, white and ochre. All of these colors are fundamentally eye-catching.
Despite having such striking colors, it has a high capacity to camouflage itself with its surroundings. Female specimens are usually paler than males. This is a fairly clear way to differentiate them. Younger mantis shrimp may have more yellowish colors instead of the more typical green. All of these traits differentiate individuals when it comes to studying them in depth.
Eyes and vision: biological engineering
The mantis shrimp has some of the more complex eyes of the animal kingdom. Each compound eye can include around 10.000 ommatidia and is divided by a middle band of six specialized rows. In these rows, multiple photoreceptor pigments ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, and units dedicated to sensing the linear and circular polarization of light. This architecture gives them trinocular vision with a single eye, facilitating extremely accurate depth estimation for capturing fast-moving prey.
The eyes are located in mobile peduncles that can move independently, with wide turning ranges, allowing them to explore their surroundings with great efficiency. Thanks to this combination of receptors, filters, and eye mobility, they are capable of detecting subtle visual cues in other individuals (such as fluorescent patterns), recognize semi-transparent prey or bright predators, and discriminate fine details useful in their complex social interactions.
Weapons and hunting strategy: drills and crushers
According to the morphology of their raptorial appendages, mantis shrimps are grouped into two major functional types:
- drilling machines: armed with appendages with harpoon-like barbs, ideal for piercing and holding soft-bodied prey such as fish, squid or even baby sharks.
- Shredders: they have an arm that acts as a club, with a rudimentary spike and internal cutting edges. They are specialists in break shells hard shells of molluscs, snails, crabs and oysters.
Both types execute blows with extreme accelerations and great precision. Their raptorial anatomy allows them to launch lightning attacks without having to move their entire body, maximizing surprise in burrow ambushes.
Physics of impact: speed, cavitation and light
The raptorial limb functions as a biomechanical catapultA locking system and an internal spring accumulate elastic energy that is released in microseconds, reaching speeds close to 23 m / s and accelerations of thousands of g. The speed of the impact generates cavitation bubbles in the water that, when collapsing, add up to a shock wave capable of stunning or damaging prey even if the first strike misses. This phenomenon may be accompanied by sonoluminescence (emission of light from the collapse of microbubbles), a brief, localized effect that demonstrates the energetic nature of the process.
To withstand this mechanics without self-destructing, the punch arm features a composite material with type structure Bouligand, where the fibers are arranged in helical layers. This arrangement dissipates tension, stops the spread of cracks and allows repeated striking with minimal structural fatigue, inspiring the design of resilient materials in engineering.
Behavior
Their life expectancy is quite long given their excellent ability to survive in different environments. They tend to be quite aggressive. Because of this behavior, they are called boxers, as they are able to use their claws to perform. quick and violent attacks. They are predatory animalsThey have great hunting skills and usually consume their prey voraciously and quickly.
The behavior it has is so aggressive that some specimens have been able to break the glass of an aquarium with a single blowThis extraordinary strength shines and is most evident when the animal feels cornered or in danger. In this case, having glass as walls makes it want to be free, and it strikes with all its might.
Despite their great aggressiveness, they are little-known animals in the habitats where they live. They usually spend most of their lives within the burrows and in holes going unnoticed. Being solitaryThey simply spend their time hiding safely, waiting for prey to pass near their lair. When this happens, they launch swift and violent attacks that help them obtain the food they desire. Mantis shrimps exhibit diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular behavior. There's no single time of day when they're more active than another.
Its complex behavior makes it have diverse ritualized fights with other males of the same species. These are ritual-like fights that are part of a more unusual social behavior. This behavior stems from the need to defend their territory against certain rivals they consider dangerous. It's simply a way of defending their own.
In addition, they show a remarkable the memory individual: they can recognize regular neighbors by visual cues and by the odorIn some species, they communicate with fluorescent patterns on the body, useful for delimiting territory or attracting a mate, signals that their specialized vision captures with ease.
Defense, movement, and burrow life
Before striking, many species exhibit the metal extension, an intimidating posture in which they raise their body and show their armed arm to deter rivals. In addition to swimming and the typical gait of crustaceans, some species have also been observed to have bearing propelled by hind legs to cover distance quickly over sandy substrates when exposed at low tide.
These burrows serve a dual role: refuge and a hunting base. Some mantis shrimp excavate and remodel tunnels that, once abandoned, can be reused by other reef organisms, thus integrating into the ecosystem dynamics.
Interaction with humans: aquarium and kitchen
In marine aquariophilia, certain hobbyists keep stomatopods for their fascinating behavior and their colors. However, they are effective predators de peces and invertebrates from the tank and although cases of glass breakage are rare, they require robust equipment and habitat planning with live rock free of unwanted guests. In gastronomy, some species are consumed in different cultures: in Japanese cook (like shako in sushi/sashimi), Cantonese and in areas of the Mediterranean coast, where the galley can be part of traditional dishes. Like any seafood, its consumption should consider the origin and water quality where it is captured.
Curiosities of the mantis lobster
They are animals with a good memory. If they are always lurking in their burrows waiting for prey to be captured, they are able to remember neighboring individuals. Some specimens may remember other individuals by smell. in particular.
Some of the mantis shrimp species can use fluorescent patterns on their bodies to send signals to their own species and to other nearby species. This serves to expand the distribution area where behavioral signals are distributed.
Its peculiar way of moving makes it a rather curious animal. Uses its hind legs to gain momentum. Once they have enough momentum, they roll to the area they want to reach. With this method of travel, they can travel distances of up to two meters with each push. They typically make more frequent pushes, traveling distances of half a meter. Stronger pushes require excessive energy, and they use them in special situations.
The logic of polarized vision
That they can detect linear and circular polarized light It's not just a quirk. They can differentiate between scale reflectances, see hidden signals in the shells of their peers, and process their surroundings with a computational efficiency High: Part of the analysis is “pre-wired” in the retina, reducing the load on the central nervous system. This is why its responses are so fast and accurate during hunting and defense.
Distribution, feeding and reproduction
Almost all species of mantis shrimp make their home in the tropical and subtropical seas since they need milder temperatures. There is great abundance in the Caribbean Sea and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are also species in temperate waters, including the well-known Squilla mantis in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic.
As for their diet, they are known as very voracious predators with aggressive behavior. This leads them to have a very varied diet based on different fish, mollusks and other crustaceansSome individuals may even experience the cannibalism when opportunity or competition favors it.
When the mantis lobster is mating, its shell may show active fluorescence. This indicator helps males identify the moment. Females are fertile when they go through certain phases of the tidal cycle, which optimizes energy in courtship and better synchronizes egg laying with favorable environmental conditions.
They can have between 20 and 30 breeding episodes throughout their life.Depending on the species, parental care and the relationship between the pair can vary. In some, both members collaborate (biparental care), in others the female carries the eggs under her abdomen, and in others, they are deposited in the burrow. There are also species monogamous They share the same den for long periods, coordinating their activity, while in others they only come together for mating.
Courtship rites and offspring care
Courtship may include specific visual signals that their eyes detect with great sensitivity. After copulation, many females store sperm until they are ready to lay eggs, forming clusters of eggs that can reach very high numbers, protected with adhesive secretions. Hatching gives way to planktonic larvae that remain in the water column for weeks before settling and completing their metamorphosis. In species that form stable pairs, the male may intensify the food supply while the female takes care of the eggs.
Representative species and regional variation
- Squilla mantis (mantis shrimp): common in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic; yellowish-brown coloration with complex eyes on stalks; first leg with curved claw for digging and capturing.
- Odontodactylus spp. (includes very colorful forms called peacocks): they stand out for their multicolored shells and devastating blows against hard shells.
- Lysiosquillina maculata (zebra mantis): one of the largest; striped pattern in shades of cream and brown; ambush predator from deep burrows.
The diversity of the Stomatopoda order is counted by hundreds of species, grouped into several superfamilies. Although they share common hunting and vision traits, they show adaptations to substrates, depths and local prey, creating a very wide ecological range among marine invertebrates.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the mantis shrimp. With its hyperspecialized eyes, Its biomechanical weapons and its complex behavior, this stomatopod is one of the most unique predators of tropical and subtropical shallow waters, protagonist of fascinating trophic and social interactions that continue to inspire biological research and advances in materials.
