ALL EYES ON MANTIS SHRIMPS
Landlubbers are finally cottoning on to our poorly kept secret: mantis shrimps are awesome. Aaron “Bertie” Gekoski – presenter of Scubazoo’s
series – takes a look at this fascinating creature and
some of the threats it faces
A BURROWING STOMATOPOD caused quite a stir on the Internet recently. It all started with a feature by the popular cartoon, “The Oatmeal”, which appeared rather enamoured with this plucky crustacean. The rest of the world was intrigued, as the diving community raised a collective, knowing nod: we told you so.
If they’d have listened to us before, we’d have told them that the mantis shrimp is far from shrimpy. In fact, it’s not even a shrimp at all. And it’s hard – pound-for-pound it's one of the hardest animals around.
Mantis shrimps are either “smashers” or “spearers” – categories that serve to enhance their fearsome reputations. Spearers are armed with spiny appendages, topped with barbed tips used to impale fish. Smashers’ arms, on the other hand, culminate in hefty clubs. Cocking these lethal weapons, muscles contract and store up energy. Upon release, the lower arm springs forward at such velocity that the surrounding water bubbles, in a process known as cavitation.
The effect is that smashers can strike their prey faster than a speeding bullet. Much larger animals, the shells of crabs, and even aquarium tanks don’t stand a chance against this mighty midget. If you were to fight one and blink, it could have smashed you 500 times in the face before your eyelid reached its destination!
Which brings us nicely to their eye system, the most sophisticated in the animal kingdom. Not only can each peeper move independently, but some carry 16 types of colour-receptive cones, compared to a human’s measly three. Whilst we can see around 10,000 colours, it’s believed a mantis shrimp can appreciate more than 100,000. Along with this, they’re capable of seeing in both UV and polarised light. Suddenly us Homo sapiens appear a little feeble.
Add in the fact that some are monogamous, and others are extravagantly coloured (even keeping eggs in their forelimbs) and you’ve got every diver’s wet dream. Strong, romantic, maternal and beautiful: What’s not to love?
MANTIS IN A BOTTLE
Unfortunately, some people love them a little too much and mantis shrimp is now a regular on menus around parts of Asia. But