Mantis Shrimp
A crustacean that punches faster than a bullet, sees colors no human can imagine, and has been shattering aquarium glass since the 1970s
No photo available for Mantis Shrimp
Superpower
Mantis shrimp strike with clubs or spears that accelerate at up to 10,000g — the same order of magnitude as a bullet — reaching speeds of 23 m/s. The strike is so fast it generates cavitation bubbles: the water itself collapses violently after the club passes through it, and the shockwave from this collapse delivers a second impact even if the first misses. They can crack open crab shells, snail shells, and reinforced aquarium glass. Some species are kept in sealed acrylic enclosures at marine research facilities because standard glass doesn't last.
Overview
Mantis shrimp (order Stomatopoda) are neither mantis nor shrimp — they're a 400-million-year-old lineage of predatory crustaceans with no close living relatives and a body plan that has remained largely unchanged since before the dinosaurs. There are two types: 'smashers,' which cave in hard shells with hammer-like clubs, and 'spearers,' which impale soft-bodied prey. Their compound eyes sit on independent stalks and move separately — each eye can track objects on its own. They have 16 types of photoreceptor cells, compared to 3 in humans, allowing detection of UV, infrared, and polarized light. Ironically, color discrimination tests suggest they may not be better at distinguishing shades than humans — the extra receptors appear to serve a faster, simpler color identification system rather than finer resolution.
Found in
Tropical and subtropical shallow seas worldwide. Most species live in burrows or crevices in coral reefs, rock rubble, or sandy seafloor in warm coastal waters across the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean.
Things worth knowing
- 1
The cavitation bubbles produced by a mantis shrimp's strike collapse at temperatures briefly approaching the surface of the sun. The combined force of the strike and the bubble collapse is why their clubs can break crab shells with no physical contact on the second impact.
- 2
Mantis shrimp clubs are made of a composite material that has inspired engineering research — the layered mineral structure absorbs energy by rotating the direction of cracks rather than letting them propagate, a design aerospace engineers have borrowed for impact-resistant materials.
- 3
Despite 16 types of photoreceptors, mantis shrimp appear to identify colors faster than humans rather than with finer discrimination — they may be running a quick-reference color lookup rather than comparing shades.
- 4
Mantis shrimp are territorial and monogamous — many species pair-bond for up to 20 years and share a burrow. Partners take turns guarding eggs and hunting, and can recognize their mate individually.
- 5
The peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) is considered one of the most visually striking animals in the ocean — neon blue, orange, and red, with compound eyes that constantly swivel in different directions.