Mantis Shrimp

The Mantis Shrimp (or ‘Stomatopod’) is a small, aggressive marine Crustacean, that inhabit tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans between Eastern Africa and Hawaii.

They are beautiful and vibrant in colour, but also deadly, able to club prey with the force of a bullet, or spike them with their sharp claws.

They are members of the order Stomatopoda and taxonomy group Crustacea, which are hard-shelled animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and more.

The mantis shrimp is notorious for their striking force, and have the nickname ‘thumb splitter‘, due to the painful gashes they can cause if handled without care by humans.

There are around 450 species of mantis shrimp worldwide, and their colours range from shades of brown to bright, green, red and blue. The most infamous species is the Peacock mantis shrimp (also known as harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, or clown mantis shrimp), and is one of the larger, more colourful mantis shrimps commonly seen.

They typically grow to around 10cms (4 inches) in length, but some have been recorded to be as large as 46cms (18 inches). The mantis shrimp’s shell (known as a ‘carapace’) covers only the rear part of the head and the first for segments of the thorax.

While they are relatively common, they are not particularly well understood species as they are solitary and territorial sea creatures, spending most of their time hiding in rocks and burrowing in the sea bed.

They are most commonly found in U shaped burrows at the base of coral reefs. Depending on the species, they can be active during the day or entirely nocturnal.

Mantis shrimp are a violent predator and their diet depends on the species. They typically eat fish, crabs, clams, snails, worms, shrimp and squid. They can also prey on animals much larger than themselves, due to their significant power.

Mantis shrimp are not considered to be threatened or endangered by the IUCN.

Interesting Mantis Shrimp Facts

1. All mantis shrimp species can be divided into ‘spearers’ or ‘smashers’, based on the types of claws they have and tactics they use to kill the prey.

Spearers have spiny appendages with barbed tips, that are used to stab soft-bodied prey, such as different types of worms and fish. Smashers have more developed club-like appendages that are used to blugeon and smash their prey to pieces.

2. Smashers can punch at same velocity as a gunshot from a .22 caliber rifle.

Smasher mantis shrimp have two raptorial appendages (called ‘dactyl clubs’) on the front of its body that it uses to punch its prey. These fists are spring loaded, able to accelerate from their body at over 50 mph, delivering a force of over 1,500 newtons, enough to smash through crabs and clam shells.