Shrimp

Oregon Seafood Feature Peacock Mantis Shrimp

The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is the fastest striking shrimp in the world. You’ve probably seen them on a documentary and thought, “Looks just like a praying mantis”. Well they sure do. It is the most lethal combination between an insect and a sea dwelling invertebrate you will ever come across in your lifetime. Nasty looking large shrimp like creature from the depths of the ocean.

The Mantis Shrimp are not really shrimp, they’re not really mantids either. They get their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the mantis and the shrimp. They may reach 12 inches in length, although larger Peacock Mantis have been recorded. The carapace of mantis shrimp covers only the rear part of the head and the first three segments of the thorax. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colours, from shades of browns to bright neon colours.

This Species is generally not a welcome addition to your home aquarium. Instead this common creature is considered a pesty killer, and it is often introduced by accident when putting in new live rock. If these aggressive shrimps are introduced into a reef tank they will quickly go to work killing the other residents of the tank. If you hear strange knocking sounds from at night and fish are disappearing from the tank, there is a real chance that a mantis shrimp have snuck into your tank. Off The waters of Bali, Indonesia, are one home to this strange creature, (Odontodactylus scyllarus). The shrimp feeds by smashing open its prey until it can feed on its tissue. Becareful if you are diving and put your hand under a rock, the mantis shrimp is also known as the thumb splitter. With a powerful punch it will use to pound its prey into bit size pieces.