Brief Summary:
The mantis shrimp is only distantly related to crabs and prawns. Neither a shrimp nor praying mantis, its name is given purely due to its appearance (Debelius 2001). Gonodactylus chiragra attack and smash prey (crabs, snapping shrimps, gastropods) with a pair of calcified, inflated claws (Reaka & Manning 1981). They are aggressive, active predators and can be found in the intertidal zone hiding in coral rubble or rock bench.
Comprehensive Description:
The mantis shrimp is neither a shrimp nor a praying mantis, however its name is given due to its appearance and they are only very distantly related to the decapods (Debelius 2001). Many of a stomatopod’s distinctive features are related to their raptorial behaviour (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Most notably they have specialised, enlarged raptorial claws which are used for defence and in prey capture. Smashing stomatopods, like Gonodactylus chiragra, strike with the dactyl folded, hitting their armoured prey, such as crabs, powerfully with the blunt head, killing or stunning their victim into immobility (Debelius 2001). Another anatomical feature setting them apart is their triramous first antennae. Smashing stomatopods, like Gonodactylus chiragra strike with the dactyl folded, hitting their armoured prey, such as crabs, powerfully with the blunt head, killing or stunning their victim into immobility (Debelius 2001).
Gonodactylus chiragra can be distinguished by its dark olive to light cream colour, which is typically mottled. This mottling allows this species of stomatopod to be well camouflaged with its environment. It is distributed throughout Japan and Australia to the western Indian Ocean, typically in tropical climates (Debelius 2001). Their burrows can be recognised by a collection of prey discards or shell fragments near the entrance.
Mantis shrimps exhibit some quite complex behaviours and are very interesting creatures to study. They have superior compound eyes to any crustacean, giving them incredible visual capabilities. Mantis shrimps are all visual predators and have been observed as alert and ‘aware’ of their surroundings (Dingle & Caldwell 1969). The antennae are used in chemoreception and can also be used in prey detection when prey is close enough (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Stomatopods live in burrows which provide refuge from fish predators and a place for molting (Reaka & Manning 1981). Courtship, mating, and brooding of young also occurs in these burrows (Reaka & Manning 1981). Some mantis shrimps mate for life, with the partners sharing the same burrow or retreat, whereas others come together only for mating Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Distribution
Gonodactylus chiragra's distribution extends from Japan to Australia and includes the western Indian Ocean.
Size
This particular species of mantis shrimp can get anywhere up to lengths of 10cm (Debelius, 2001).
Identification Resources
Gonodactylus chiragra can be identified by its dark olive to light cream colour which is usually mottled. It is the largest of the Gonodactylus family. It can be mistaken for Gonodactylus platysoma but can be differentiated as it does not have dark blue and orange patches on the side of its fifth abdominal segment as does G. platysoma. The picture below shows a close up of the dorsal mottled colour of G. chiragra (Debelius 2001).
G. chiragra is also a ‘smasher’ mantis shrimp, which means that they lack forwardly directed spines on the finger of their claw and instead the basal part of this finger is swollen. Below shows this swollen raptorial appendage.
Local Distribution and Habitats
This species of mantis shrimp is common in reef flat and low rocky intertidal areas and lives in cavities within coral rubble and rock bench.
Cavities of mantis shrimps can be identified by a collection of shell fragments near the entrance of their home (Debelius 2001).
Below is a typical habitat you might find G. chiragra hiding.
Biogeographical Distribution
See Encyclopedia of Life for a map of distribution based on occurrence records. The link will take you to the corresponding page.
Crypsis
The olive green to light cream mottled appearance of G. chiragra mean that it is well camouflaged and able to blend well into its habitat. This means it is well adapted for its way of life as an ambush predator and able to sneak up on potential prey without being detected. In the same way it works for the organism to remain undetected by predators.
Can you spot the mantis shrimp?
scroll down ..............
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
Behaviour
Mantis shrimp are very interesting creatures behaviourally. They exhibit some of the most complex behaviour known in invertebrates, with the possible exception of the cephalopods (Reaka & Manning 1981). All are visual predators and have been observed to be remarkably ‘aware’ of their surroundings (Reaka & Manning 1981; Dingle & Caldwell 1969). Their large raptorial claws are used to spear or smash prey, deter predators, and fight other stomatopods (Reaka & Manning 1981).
Mantis shrimps live in burrows which provide refuge from fish predators and a burrow in which to molt (Reaka & Manning 1981). Courtship, mating, and brooding of young also occurs in these burrows (Reaka & Manning 1981). Some mantis shrimp mate for life, with the partners sharing the same burrow or retreat, whereas others come together only for mating Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Gonodactylus chiragra inhabits preformed holes in coral rubble and rocks and they are unable to construct their own burrows, other than minor scraping and chipping (Reaka & Manning 1981). G. chiragra maintain a clean burrow which is kept free of fouling organisms which are otherwise common in this setting (Reaka & Manning 1981). They have been observed to ‘close’ their burrows at night by moving pebbles or pieces of detritus to the entrance and packing them into place (Reaka & Manning 1981).
This species of stomatopod is also exhibits grooming behaviours and spend a fair amount of their time cleaning themselves of fouling organisms and parasites (Reaka & Manning 1981).
Mantis shrimps are known to exhibit various aggressive and territorial behaviours. This behaviours are displayed during prey capture, whilst defending their burrows or themselves, and towards each other (Dingle and Caldwell 1969). Physical combat involves the form of a strike with their raptorial claws. This strike can be seen clearly in the video footage below of G. chiragra.
Video supplied by Michael Bok
The following is a university report regarding a personal study of Gonodactylus chiragra undertaken whilst I was on Heron Island, in Northern Queensland, Australia.
A diurnally active life cycle for a visually active predator?
Introduction
Many organisms follow a biological rhythm or cycle. Mantis shrimps are active predators and rely on a combination of stimuli for prey capture, including chemical, tactical, and optical stimuli (Schiff, Abbott & Manning 1986). Being visual predators, they would be expected to be most active during daylight hours, using the light to locate and capture prey. However, a study by Bolwig (1954) found G. falcatus and Squilla mantis responded negatively to daytime levels of illumination, and were most active under dark conditions. This finding conflicted with the existing knowledge of Gonodactylus, of which all species observed up to that point in time were known to be diurnally active (Schiff, Abbott & Manning 1986).
In the present study, the mantis shrimp Gonodactylus chiragra will be observed to determine if any diurnal patterns exist and if these can be manipulated by switching the pattern of day and night. It is expected that this species of mantis shrimp will be diurnally active as found in the majority of studies of this kind.
Methods
A study was undertaken while at Heron Island, Australia. Specimens were collected from Shark Bay and found in coral rubble in the intertidal area. Specimens included 2 juvenile and 3 adult G. chiragra mantis shrimps. Although no observations could be made of the juveniles as they were too small and cryptic to be able to gain any conclusions. Also midway through the study one of the adult specimens ‘escaped’ so the results were based on only two shrimps behavioural patterns. The study occurred under laboratory conditions and each specimen was held in a separate tank in constantly running seawater. Specimens were allowed to acclimate to their new surroundings for a 24 hour period before the study took place. However, behaviour during this period was noted. The activity of these mantis shrimps was observed over a 48 hour period. First over a normal day-night cycle and then this was switched to observe them during the day under dark conditions and during the night during light conditions. Each stomatopod had their own piece of coral rubble (collected from the area around Heron Island) to call home for the duration of the experiment. Activity was defined as movement which saw the mantis shrimp move its entire body from its present position to another. Each movement from one area to another constituted 1 measure of activity. Other notations on behaviour and feeding were also recorded during the study.
Results
Activity during the day was found to be much greater than that during the night. Switching day and night was observed to have no effect on these activity levels. The results are summarised into the following figure.
![]() ![]() 
Figure 1. Graph to show activity during both normal day and night cycles as well as that under dark conditions during the day and light conditions at night.
Discussion
From this data, it is evident that this species of stomatopod are more active during the day and less so at night. Even when conditions are manipulated, they continue as normal suggesting that they follow an instilled diurnal cycle. This data indicates that while this species of mantis shrimp are visual predators and use the light during the day to hunt, manipulation of this has little to no effect on their activity levels and thus they must follow an entrenched cycle which is independent of light levels. However, study over a longer period continuously switching night and day may find that they may modify this to follow light and dark cycles and become more active under light conditions once again. These results are consistent with the findings of a study by Dingle & Caldwell (1969) who found the species Gonodactylus bredini was also diurnally active.
Other observations made during the study regarding behaviour noted that the mantis shrimps were only seen feeding at daytime. Whether this was due to prey availability or simply failure to view this occurrence at night should be investigated further. Also, activity which occurred during the night, by the stomatopod, seemed to be the result of other activity in the study area. They are extremely inquisitive creatures and seem to watch and observe you as you do the same. Ideally the study could be carried out with no movement or disturbance through the use of video surveillance instead. However, the results from this study clearly show a pattern of activity exists in G. chiragra.
It was also noted during the study that the stomatopod would attempt to ‘close’ off the entrance to their home at night, using bits of rubble and sand which was then re-opened during the day. This behaviour was also observed in a study by Dingle and Caldwell (1969) in the mantis shrimp G. bredini, where they were observed to remove all detritus and debris and deposit it outside their burrows. Equivalent behaviour was observed in G. chiragra in the present study where the stomatopods cleaned out their new burrows and used this debris to close themselves off during the night.
Another behaviour which was observed was a coiling position, also observed in Dingle and Caldwell (1969), where the stomatopod doubles over itself so that its head is positioned directly above the telson (see figure 2). In the current study this behaviour was observed when the mantis shrimp was left without a burrow to hide, when it was threatened, or when it could not access the inside of a burrow. In Dingle and Caldwell however, this was one of the behaviours observed when mantis shrimps were placed in contact with one another. From this, I assume that this behaviour is a type of defence. Where a mantis shrimp feels threatened and cannot access its usual burrow to hide and resorts to hiding ‘within itself’. Further study into this behaviour is required though to make any significant conclusions.
a.  b.  c. 
Figure 2. Photos showing the coiling position in G. chiragra.
Cyclicity
A female mantis shrimp broods up to 50,000 eggs in her burrow (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). These then hatch into pelagic stages. The hatching stage is a zoea and planktonic larval life may last for three months (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). However, larvae of gonodactylids spend less time in this pelagic stage than other taxa (Reaka 1980). Planktonic development time may be longer in large than small species (Reaka 1980).
Systematics or Phylogenetics
Stomatopods are a small but diverse group consisting of approximately 400 species, within 19 families and 100 or more genera (Debelius 2001). They are only distantly related to crabs and prawns as the stomatopod lineage split from other crustaceans around 200 million years ago (Debelius 2001).
Figure 1. A phylogeny of Malacostraca, with the focus on Stomatopoda (adapted from Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Leptostraca is the sister taxon of Eumalacostraca, the latter comprises all the remaining malacostracan taxa (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). In the ancestral eumalacostracans, the exopods of the second antennae were developed into a scaphocerite, or antennal scale, that is lacking in Leptostraca (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The phyllopodous thoracopods inherited from the early crustacean were converted into stenopods by adaptation of the endopods (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The sixth pleopods became uropods, which in combining with the enlarged telson produced a tail fan (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The caudal furca was lost (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Eumalacostraca is separated into Stomatopoda and Caridoida, the latter consisting of all remaining eumalacostraca (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The stomatopods have triramous first antennae, raptorial anterior thoracopods, and respiratory pleopods (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The caridoid rostrum is attached to the head and unmovable (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). A statocyst is present in each of the second antennae, although it is frequently secondarily lost (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
External Morphology
Many of a mantis shrimp’s distinctive features are related to their raptorial behaviour. They have a dorsoventrally flattened body which is divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). No cephalothorax is present (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The head has a pair of large, stalked compound eyes and only one median naupliar eye (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). They have unusual triramous first antennae with three flagella (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Each of the second antenna are made up of a peduncle, flagellum, and large antennal scale (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). On their dorsal side, their head and first four thoracic segments are covered by a shieldlike carapace (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). A movable median rostrum articulates with the anterior edge of this carapace and conceals the bases of the eyestalks (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). They have eight thoracic segments which bear a pair of thoracopods (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The first of these are long and slender and are used for grooming (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The second are subchelate, prehensile raptorial claws for capturing prey (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Image sourced from Ruppert, Fox Barnes (2004)
Triramous first antenna of G. chiragra
Two different types of these large raptorial appendages exist, the smasher and the spearer. The spearing stomatopod typically strikes with the dactyl in the open position, stabbing soft bodied prey such as fish on their sharp barbs (Debelius 2001). Smashing stomatopods, like Gonodactylus chiragra instead strike with the dactyl folded, hitting their armoured prey, such as crabs, powerfully with the blunt head, killing or stunning their victim into immobility (Debelius 2001). The image below shows the clear difference between the two types of claws, the smasher being on the left and the spearer on the right.
Thoracopods three, four and five are also subchelate but are much smaller than the raptorial claws (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Thoracopods six, seven and eight are rather unspecialised walking legs (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Mantis shrimp have a well-developed, muscular abdomen and five pairs of biramous pleopods with filamentous gills (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Abdominal gills, such as these, are unusual in Crustacea, but are also found in isopods (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The sixth abdominal segment holds a pair of uropods and a considerable telson. These together create a fan tail (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Mantis shrimps have superior compound eyes to any crustacean which are unique in structure (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004; Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). Stomatopods are able to distinguish moving objects as well as depth perception (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The antennae are used for chemoreception and can also be used in prey detection when prey is close enough (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
The Gonodactyloidea family contains the species which have eyes with the most mobility and the greatest functional specialisation (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). Midbands in the compound eyes in this family of stomatopods contain 6 parallel ommatidial rows, which are each structurally distinct from one another (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). The structural specialisations may allow only this part of the retina to complete a meticulous analysis of the spectral and polarisational content of light (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). The other parts of the retina, which include the majority of the whole visual field, are more like the retinae of other crustaceans, as they still have extensive spatial coverage but more restricted abilities to analyse for wavelength or polarisation (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). The gonodactyloid’s compound eyes are able to move on all 3 rotational axis (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). The ability to stabilise an eye in all 3 axes requires a flexible control system (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990). The ability of this family to move their eyes independently, implies even greater complexity within this system (Cronin, Marshall & Land 1990).
Magnified compound eyes of G. chiragra
Magnified eyes at the end of their eyestalks in G chiragra
Internal Anatomy
The mouth of a mantis shrimp opens directly into a large stomach that fills the anterior cephalothorax (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). They have a huge digestive cecum which continues throughout the body, even into the telson (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Their heart is made up of a long tube which runs through the length of the body, with thirteen pairs of ostia (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). They possess a hemal system with sophisticated arteries and capillaries (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Adults have a pair of maxillary glands (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). Their nervous system includes a typical tripartite crustacean brain, a pair of lengthy circumenteric connectives, and a subesophageal ganglion encompassing the ganglia of the head and the first five thoracopods (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). The remaining appendages are operated by the segmental ganglia of the ventral nerve cord (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004).
Nucleotide Sequences
The NCBI Taxonomy database contains the names of all organisms that are represented in the genetic databases with at least one nucleotide or protein sequence. Gonodactylus chiragra is represented on the database.
Threats
Gonodactylids are susceptible to local population crashes. G. chiragra inhabits an unpredictably disturbed shallow marine environment in the intertidal zone, which is exposed to local catastrophies such as storms (Reaka 1980). One study found that after being hit by a series of storms, a habitat once abundant with stomatopods, was afterwards devoid of their occurrence (Reaka 1980). It was also discovered that a rainfall event resulted in a massive reef kill, including stomatopods (Reaka 1980). From this and numerous other similar studies it is evident that these inhabitants live in an easily disrupted environment and are thus vulnerable and threatened by the effects of storm and weather events.
Mantis shrimp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length, although exceptional cases of up to 38 cm (15 in) have been recorded.[2] The carapace of mantis shrimp covers only the rear part of the head and the first four segments of the thorax. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colours, from shades of browns to bright neon colours. Although they are common animals and among the most important predators in many shallow, tropical and sub-tropical marine habitats they are poorly understood as many species spend most of their life tucked away in burrows and holes.[3]
Called "sea locusts" by ancient Assyrians, "prawn killers" in Australia and now sometimes referred to as "thumb splitters" — because of the animal's ability to inflict painful gashes if handled incautiously[4] — mantis shrimp sport powerful claws that they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment. Although it happens rarely, some larger species of mantis shrimp are capable of breaking through aquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon.[5]
Ecology
These aggressive and typically solitary sea creatures spend most of their time hiding in rock formations or burrowing intricate passageways in the sea bed. They either wait for prey to chance upon them or, unlike most crustaceans, actually hunt, chase and kill prey. They rarely exit their homes except to feed and relocate, and can be diurnal, nocturnal or crepuscular, depending on the species. Most species live in tropical and subtropical seas (Indian and Pacific Oceans between eastern Africa and Hawaii), although some live in temperate seas.
Classification and the claw
Around 400 species of mantis shrimp have currently been described worldwide; all living species are in the suborder Unipeltata.[6] They are commonly separated into two distinct groups determined by the manner of claws they possess:
- Spearers are armed with spiny appendages topped with barbed tips, used to stab and snag prey.
- Smashers, on the other hand, possess a much more developed club and a more rudimentary spear (which is nevertheless quite sharp and still used in fights between their own kind); the club is used to bludgeon and smash their meals apart. The inner aspect of the dactyl (the terminal portion of the appendage) can also possess a sharp edge, with which the animal can cut prey while it swims.
Both types strike by rapidly unfolding and swinging their raptorial claws at the prey, and are capable of inflicting serious damage on victims significantly greater in size than themselves. In smashers, these two weapons are employed with blinding quickness, with an acceleration of 10,400 g (102,000 m/s2 or 335,000 ft/s2) and speeds of 23 m/s from a standing start,[7] about the acceleration of a .22 calibre bullet.[8][9] Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface.[7] The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1,500 newtons that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow.[10] Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey.
The snap can also produce sonoluminescence from the collapsing bubble. This will produce a very small amount of light and high temperatures in the range of several thousand kelvins within the collapsing bubble, although both the light and high temperatures are too weak and short-lived to be detected without advanced scientific equipment. The light emission and temperature increase probably have no biological significance but are rather side-effects of the rapid snapping motion. Pistol shrimp produce this effect in a very similar manner.
Smashers use this ability to attack snails, crabs, molluscs and rock oysters; their blunt clubs enabling them to crack the shells of their prey into pieces. Spearers, on the other hand, prefer the meat of softer animals, like fish, which their barbed claws can more easily slice and snag.
Eyes
The midband region of the mantis shrimp‘s eye is made up of six rows of specialized ommatidia. Four rows carry 16 differing sorts of photoreceptor pigments, 12 for colour sensitivity, others for colour filtering. The mantis shrimp has such good eyes it can perceive both polarized light and hyperspectral colour vision.[11] Their eyes (both mounted on mobile stalks and constantly moving about independently of each other) are similarly variably coloured and are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom.[12][13] They permit both serial and parallel analysis of visual stimuli.
Each compound eye is made up of up to 10,000 separate ommatidia of the apposition type. Each eye consists of two flattened hemispheres separated by six parallel rows of highly specialised ommatidia, collectively called the midband, which divides the eye into three regions. This is a design which makes it possible for mantis shrimp to see objects with three different parts of the same eye. In other words, each individual eye possesses trinocular vision and depth perception. The upper and lower hemispheres are used primarily for recognition of forms and motion, not colour vision, like the eyes of many other crustaceans.
Rows 1–4 of the midband are specialised for colour vision, from ultra-violet to infra-red. The optical elements in these rows have eight different classes of visual pigments and the rhabdom is divided into three different pigmented layers (tiers), each adapted for different wavelengths. The three tiers in rows 2 and 3 are separated by colour filters (intrarhabdomal filters) that can be divided into four distinct classes, two classes in each row. It is organised like a sandwich; a tier, a colour filter of one class, a tier again, a colour filter of another class, and then a last tier. Rows 5–6 are segregated into different tiers too, but have only one class of visual pigment (a ninth class) and are specialised for polarisation vision. They can detect different planes of polarised light. A tenth class of visual pigment is found in the dorsal and ventral hemispheres of the eye.
The midband only covers a small area of about 5°–10° of the visual field at any given instant, but like in most crustaceans, the eyes are mounted on stalks. In mantis shrimps the movement of the stalked eye is unusually free, and can be driven in all possible axes, up to at least 70°, of movement by eight individual eyecup muscles divided into six functional groups. By using these muscles to scan the surroundings with the midband, they can add information about forms, shapes and landscape which cannot be detected by the upper and lower hemisphere of the eye. They can also track moving objects using large, rapid eye movements where the two eyes move independently. By combining different techniques, including saccadic movements, the midband can cover a very wide range of the visual field.
Some species have at least 16 different photoreceptor types, which are divided into four classes (their spectral sensitivity is further tuned by colour filters in the retinas), 12 of them for colour analysis in the different wavelengths (including four which are sensitive to ultraviolet light) and four of them for analysing polarised light. By comparison, humans have only four visual pigments, three dedicated to see colour. The visual information leaving the retina seems to be processed into numerous parallel data streams leading into the central nervous system, greatly reducing the analytical requirements at higher levels.
At least two species have been reported to be able to detect circular polarized light,[14][15] and in some cases their biological quarter-wave plates perform more uniformly over the entire visual spectrum than any current man-made polarizing optics, the application of which it is speculated could be applied to a new type of optical media that performs even better than the current generation of Blu-ray disc technology.[16][17]
The species Gonodactylus smithii is the only organism known to simultaneously detect the four linear and two circular polarization components required for Stokes parameters, which yield a full description of polarization. It is thus believed to have optimal polarization vision.[15][18]
Reasons given for powerful eyesight
The eyes of mantis shrimp may enable them to recognize different types of coral, prey species (which are often transparent or semi-transparent), or predators, such as barracuda, which have shimmering scales. Alternatively, the manner in which mantis shrimp hunt (very rapid movements of the claws) may require very accurate ranging information, which would require accurate depth perception.
The fact that those with the most advanced vision also are the species with the most colourful bodies, suggests the evolution of colour vision has taken the same direction as the peacock's tail.
During mating rituals, mantis shrimp actively fluoresce, and the wavelength of this fluorescence matches the wavelengths detected by their eye pigments.[2] Females are only fertile during certain phases of the tidal cycle; the ability to perceive the phase of the moon may therefore help prevent wasted mating efforts. It may also give mantis shrimp information about the size of the tide, which is important for species living in shallow water near the shore.
Behaviour
An 1896 drawing of a mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp are long-lived and exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting. Some species use fluorescent patterns on their bodies for signalling with their own and maybe even other species, expanding their range of behavioural signals. They can learn and remember well, and are able to recognise individual neighbours with whom they frequently interact. They can recognise them by visual signs and even by individual smell. Many have developed complex social behaviour to defend their space from rivals.
In a lifetime, they can have as many as 20 or 30 breeding episodes. Depending on the species, the eggs can be laid and kept in a burrow, or carried around under the female's tail until they hatch. Also depending on the species, male and female may come together only to mate, or they may bond in monogamous long-term relationships.[19]
In the monogamous species, the mantis shrimp remain with the same partner for up to 20 years. They share the same burrow, and may be able to coordinate their activities. Both sexes often take care of the eggs (biparental care). In Pullosquilla and some species in Nannosquilla, the female will lay two clutches of eggs, one that the male tends and one that the female tends. In other species, the female will look after the eggs while the male hunts for both of them. Once the eggs hatch the offspring may spend up to three months as plankton.
Although stomatopods typically display the standard locomotion types as seen in true shrimp and lobsters, one species, Nannosquilla decemspinosa, has been observed flipping itself into a crude wheel. The species lives in shallow, sandy areas. At low tides, N. decemspinosa is often stranded by its short rear legs, which are sufficient for locomotion when the body is supported by water, but not on dry land. The mantis shrimp then performs a forward flip, in an attempt to roll towards the next tide pool. N. decemspinosa has been observed to roll repeatedly for 2 metres (6.6 ft), but typically specimens travel less than 1 m (3.3 ft).[20]
Cookery
In Japanese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is eaten boiled as a sushi topping, and occasionally, raw as sashimi; and is called shako (蝦蛄).
Mantis shrimp is abundant in the coastal regions of south Vietnam, known in Vietnamese as tôm tít or tôm tích. The shrimp can be steamed, boiled, grilled or dried; used with pepper + salt + lime, fish sauce + tamarind or fennel.[21]
In Cantonese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is a popular dish known as "pissing shrimp" (攋尿蝦, Mandarin pinyin: lài niào xiā, modern Cantonese: laaih liu hā) because of their tendency to shoot a jet of water when picked up. After cooking, their flesh is closer to that of lobsters than that of shrimp, and like lobsters, their shells are quite hard and require some pressure to crack.
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 or alupihang-dagat and is cooked and eaten like shrimp.
The usual concerns associated with consuming seafood are an issue with mantis shrimp, as they may dwell in contaminated waters. This is especially true in Hawaii, particularly the Grand Ala Wai Canal in Waikiki, where some have grown unnaturally large.[2]
Aquariums
Many saltwater aquarists keep stomatopods in captivity.[22] These aquarists may play a role in understanding the mysteries of the mantis shrimp. However, mantis shrimp are considered pests by other aquarium hobbyists because many smasher species create burrows in the exoskeletons of dead corals. These coral remains are useful in the marine aquarium trade and are often collected. It is not uncommon for a piece of coral skeleton, also known as live rock, to convey a live mantis shrimp into an aquarium. Once inside the tank, they may feed on fish, corals and smaller crustaceans. They are notoriously difficult to catch when established in a well-stocked tank,[23] and although there are accounts of them breaking glass tanks, such incidents are very rare.[24]
References
- ^ Joel W. Martin & George E. Davis (2001) (PDF). An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 132. http://atiniui.nhm.org/pdfs/3839/3839.pdf.
- ^ a b c James Gonser (February 14, 2003). "Large shrimp thriving in Ala Wai Canal muck". Honolulu Advertiser. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Feb/14/ln/ln01a.html.
- ^ Ross Piper (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313339228.
- ^ Gilbert L. Voss (2002). "Order Stomatopoda: Mantis shrimp or thumb splitters". Seashore Life of Florida and the Caribbean. Dover pictorial archive series. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 120–122. ISBN 9780486420684. http://books.google.com/?id=scXKvA97b24C.
- ^ April Holladay (September 1, 2006). "Shrimp spring into shattering action". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-01-09-shrimp_x.htm.
- ^ "Stomatopoda". Tree of Life Web Project. January 1, 2002. http://tolweb.org/Stomatopoda/6299.
- ^ a b S. N. Patek, W. L. Korff, and R. L. Caldwell (2004). "Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp". Nature 428 (6985): 819–820. Bibcode 2004Natur.428..819P. doi:10.1038/428819a. PMID 15103366.
- ^ Strongest Punch in the World on YouTube
- ^ "Mantis Shrimp". BBC Science & Nature. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/factfiles/crustaceans/mantis_shrimp_bg.shtml.
- ^ S. N. Patek & R. L. Caldwell (2005). "Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp". Journal of Experimental Biology 208 (Pt 19): 3655–3664. doi:10.1242/jeb.01831. PMID 16169943.
- ^ Justin Marshall & Johannes Oberwinkler (1999). "Ultraviolet vision: the colourful world of the mantis shrimp". Nature 401 (6756): 873–874. Bibcode 1999Natur.401..873M. doi:10.1038/44751. PMID 10553902. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v401/n6756/full/401873a0.html.
- ^ "Mantis shrimp have the world's most complex colour vision system." - Justin Marshall, University of Queensland
- ^ Patrick Kilday (September 28, 2005). "Mantis shrimp boasts most advanced eyes". The Daily Californian. http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=19671.
- ^ Tsyr-Huei Chiou, Sonja Kleinlogel, Tom Cronin, Roy Caldwell, Birte Loeffler, Afsheen Siddiqi, Alan Goldizen, Justin Marshal (March 2008). "Circular Polarization Vision in a Stomatopod Crustacean". Current Biology 18 (6): 429–34. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.02.066. PMID 18356053.
- ^ a b Sonja Kleinlogel, Andrew White (2008). Iwaniuk, Andrew. ed. "The Secret World of Shrimps: Polarisation Vision at Its Best". PLoS ONE 3 (5): e2190. Bibcode 2008PLoSO...3.2190K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002190. PMC 2377063. PMID 18478095. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0002190.
- ^ N. W. Roberts, T. H. Chiou, N. J. Marshall & T. W. Cronin (2009). "A biological quarter-wave retarder with excellent achromaticity in the visible wavelength region". Nature Photonics 3 (11): 641–644. Bibcode 2009NaPho...3..641R. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2009.189.
- ^ Chris Lee (November 1, 2009). "A crustacean eye that rivals the best optical equipment". Nobel Intent. Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/11/a-crusty-eye-sees-curly-light.ars.
- ^ Anne Minard (May 19, 2008). ""Weird beastie" shrimp have super-vision". National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080519-shrimp-colors.html.
- ^ "Sharing the job: monogamy and parental care". University of California, Berkeley. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/aquarius/monogamy.html.
- ^ Roy L. Caldwell (1979). "A unique form of locomotion in a stomatopod — backward somersaulting". Nature 282 (5734): 71–73. Bibcode 1979Natur.282...71C. doi:10.1038/282071a0. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v282/n5734/abs/282071a0.html.
- ^ http://www.dinhduong.com.vn/story/tom-tit-ac-san-mien-song-nuoc
- ^ A Load of Learnin' About Mantis Shrimps, by James Fatherree, in ReefKeeping online magazine.
- ^ Nick Dakin (2004). The Marine Aquarium. London: Andromeda. ISBN 1-902389-67-0.
- ^ Rodney Wong. "Stomatopods 101: basic care of mantis shrimp". http://fragexchange.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1878.
External links
View page ratings
Rate this page
Rate this page
Page ratings
Current average ratings.
Saved successfully
Your ratings have not been submitted yet
Your ratings have expired
Please reevaluate this page and submit new ratings.
An error has occured. Please try again later.
Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Please take a moment to complete a short survey.
Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Do you want to create an account?
An account will help you track your edits, get involved in discussions, and be a part of the community.
or
Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Did you know that you can edit this page?
Content Partners
Below is a list of content partners, with information on this page. Links have been provided to take you to each of the corresponding pages.
Arthropoda
Encyclopedia of Life
LigerCat
NCBI Taxonomy
Wikipedia
Youtube
References
Bolwig, N 1954, ‘The influence of light and touch on the orientation and behaviour of Gonodactylus glabrous Brooks, British Journal of Animal Behaviour, vol. 2, pp. 144-145.
Cronin, TW, Marshall, NJ & Land, MF 1990, ‘Optokinesis in gonodactyloid mantis shrimps (Crustacea; Stomatopoda; Gonodactylidae)’, Journal of Comparative Physiology, vol. 168, pp. 233-240.
Debelius, H 2001, Crustacea of the world: Shrimps, crabs, lobsters, mantis shrimps, amphipods, IKAN, Frankfurt.
Dingle, H & Caldwell, RL 1969, ‘The aggressive and territorial behaviour of the mantis shrimp Gonodactylus bredini Manning (Crustacea: Stomatopoda)’, Behaviour, vol. 33, pp. 115-136.
Reaka, ML 1980, ‘Geographic range, life history patterns, and body size in a guild of coral dwelling mantis shrimps’, Evolution, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1019-1030.
Reaka, ML & Manning, RB 1981, ‘The behavior of Stomatopod Crustacea, and it relationship to rates of evolution’, Journal of Crustacean Biology, vol. 1, pp. 309-327.
Ruppert, EE, Fox, RS & Barnes, RD 2004, Invertebrate zoology: A functional evolutionary approach, Brooks/Cole, Canada.
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Link to BHL Biodiversity Heritage Library and the associated page.
Biomedical Terms
These terms are derived by searching the biomedical literature database, PubMed for the name Gonodactylus chiragra.The results are analyzed with the LigerCat tool, which builds the cloud from the most relevant Medical Subject Headings (MESH). Each term's relative size indicates how many times it appears in the PubMed search results.
Related Names
1 related name (see Encyclopedia of Life)
Synonyms
1 synonym (see Encyclopedia of Life)
Common Names
0 common names (Encyclopedia of Life)
|