Showing posts tagged mantis shrimp
montereybayaquarium: Peacock Mantis Shrimp — He’s Baaaaack! Tiny, deadly and gorgeous. That’s the peacock mantis shrimp, and we just placed one on exhibit in our Splash Zone galleries. You’ll have to work a bit to see it. It’s housed — alone — in a small aquarium inside the Coral Crawl tunnel in Splash Zone. But it’s well worth the effort! This is the first time we’ve hosted a  mantis shrimp since 2001 when one of them stowed away inside some coral rock and earned us international headlines and live CNN coverage. (There’s something compelling about a “killer shrimp” terrorizing other animals in the children’s area of an internationally known aquarium.) They pack quite a punch Since then, we’ve been wary of deliberately introducing a mantis shrimp — and for good reason. Aquarists and scuba divers refer to them as “thumb-splitters” because their claws pack a punch as powerful as a .22-caliber bullet. Those same claws can shatter a clam shell, and crack open a crab or shatter glass. They can bring down a blue-ringed octopus or a fish. The claws are made of a material so hard it can deliver 50,000 blows between molts - without breaking. It’s being studied by scientists as a model for crafting super-strong body armor for soldiers. And it moves its claws so fast that they turn water into plasma and sound into light. Amazing! “A thermonuclear bomb of light and beauty” But that’s not the end of the story, as celebrated cartoonist Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal explains in his online love-letter, “Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal.” He starts by examining the eyes that make them unbelievably effective hunters. Their vision is so sensitive that a mantis shrimp can see in both infrared and ultraviolet spectra, and uses 16 color receptor cones (compared to just three for humans). Inman observes: “Where we see a rainbow, the mantis shrimp sees a thermonuclear bomb of light and beauty.” It’s that combination of experiencing a world of transcendent beauty — and then turning around and pounding its prey to smithereens — that fascinates Matthew Inman. We hope you’ll be fascinated, too, at the chance to see a peacock mantis shrimp face to face — on the other side of shatterproof acrylic. View high resolution

montereybayaquarium:

Peacock Mantis Shrimp — He’s Baaaaack!

Tiny, deadly and gorgeous. That’s the peacock mantis shrimp, and we just placed one on exhibit in our Splash Zone galleries.

You’ll have to work a bit to see it. It’s housed — alone — in a small aquarium inside the Coral Crawl tunnel in Splash Zone. But it’s well worth the effort!

This is the first time we’ve hosted a  mantis shrimp since 2001 when one of them stowed away inside some coral rock and earned us international headlines and live CNN coverage. (There’s something compelling about a “killer shrimp” terrorizing other animals in the children’s area of an internationally known aquarium.)

They pack quite a punch

Since then, we’ve been wary of deliberately introducing a mantis shrimp — and for good reason. Aquarists and scuba divers refer to them as “thumb-splitters” because their claws pack a punch as powerful as a .22-caliber bullet.

Those same claws can shatter a clam shell, and crack open a crab or shatter glass. They can bring down a blue-ringed octopus or a fish. The claws are made of a material so hard it can deliver 50,000 blows between molts - without breaking. It’s being studied by scientists as a model for crafting super-strong body armor for soldiers.

And it moves its claws so fast that they turn water into plasma and sound into light.

Amazing!

“A thermonuclear bomb of light and beauty”

But that’s not the end of the story, as celebrated cartoonist Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal explains in his online love-letter, “Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal.”

He starts by examining the eyes that make them unbelievably effective hunters. Their vision is so sensitive that a mantis shrimp can see in both infrared and ultraviolet spectra, and uses 16 color receptor cones (compared to just three for humans).

Inman observes: “Where we see a rainbow, the mantis shrimp sees a thermonuclear bomb of light and beauty.”

It’s that combination of experiencing a world of transcendent beauty — and then turning around and pounding its prey to smithereens — that fascinates Matthew Inman.

We hope you’ll be fascinated, too, at the chance to see a peacock mantis shrimp face to face — on the other side of shatterproof acrylic.

(Reblogged from montereybayaquarium)
ichthyologist: Anyone notice the sole? Soles are flatfish that use cryptic camouflage to avoid predators. Their grainy colouration matches that of the sand, allowing for them to go undetected. prilfish on Flickr View high resolution

ichthyologist:

Anyone notice the sole?

Soles are flatfish that use cryptic camouflage to avoid predators. Their grainy colouration matches that of the sand, allowing for them to go undetected.

prilfish on Flickr

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)
How ‘Smashing’ & ‘Spearing’ Shrimp Speedily Attack Prey by Douglas Main Spearing mantis shrimp hide in their burrows and wait for an unsuspecting creature to come along. Then, in the blink of an eye, they spear it with their long claws, like an underwater archer. How do they spear their prey so quickly? Maya deVries, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, compared the attack of the spearing shrimp with its relative, the “smasher” shrimp. Both animals are able to unleash quick attacks with a strange spring and latch system that stores up energy in their muscles and releases it in an instant. It’s like a bow and arrow, she said. Unexpectedly, she found that smasher mantis shrimp can move much more quickly than the spearing variety, which is the opposite of what was expected. The smashers, she found, need quick speeds to produce enough force to crack the shells of their prey, such as crabs and other shellfish. The spearing shrimp, on the other hand, only needs to move slightly faster than their prey, she said… (read more: LiveScience)                        (photo: Roy Caldwell/UC Berkeley) View high resolution

How ‘Smashing’ & ‘Spearing’ Shrimp Speedily Attack Prey

by Douglas Main

Spearing mantis shrimp hide in their burrows and wait for an unsuspecting creature to come along. Then, in the blink of an eye, they spear it with their long claws, like an underwater archer. How do they spear their prey so quickly?

Maya deVries, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, compared the attack of the spearing shrimp with its relative, the “smasher” shrimp. Both animals are able to unleash quick attacks with a strange spring and latch system that stores up energy in their muscles and releases it in an instant. It’s like a bow and arrow, she said.

Unexpectedly, she found that smasher mantis shrimp can move much more quickly than the spearing variety, which is the opposite of what was expected. The smashers, she found, need quick speeds to produce enough force to crack the shells of their prey, such as crabs and other shellfish. The spearing shrimp, on the other hand, only needs to move slightly faster than their prey, she said…

(read more: LiveScience)                        (photo: Roy Caldwell/UC Berkeley)

The telson and uropods of the mantis shrimp, Oratosquilla oratoria (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Squillidae), from Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan (photo: Takahashi | Wikimedia Commons)                       (via: EOL) View high resolution

The telson and uropods of the mantis shrimp, Oratosquilla oratoria (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Squillidae), from Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan

(photo: Takahashi | Wikimedia Commons)                       (via: EOL)

ichthyologist:

World’s fastest punch vaporizes water

The Peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) is capable of firing its clubbed claws at over 80 km/h (50 mph), with an acceleration similar to a .22 caliber bullet. The shrimp uses its club both for defense and offense, and can generate 90 kg (200 pounds) of force. The strike is so fast, it boils surrounding water, creating cavitation bubbles that immediately collapse under water pressure, striking the prey a second time. The collapsing bubble also creates a short lived flash of light and temperatures of several thousand kelvin.

Gifs are made from this BBC YouTube video:

Fastest animals on Earth in slow motion - Animal Camera - BBC

Credit goes to BBC

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)

Secret of Hard Hitting Crustacean Claws Found

by Stephanie Pappas

If sea creatures were Marvel comic book characters, the peacock mantis shrimp would be Thor. These colorful crustaceans have a hammerlike claw that can smash prey with the acceleration of a 0.22-caliber bullet — not unlike the superhero’s mythological weapon.

Now, a new study reveals the secrets behind the strength of the mantis shrimp’s claw at the molecular level. It turns out this appendage is ideally adapted to deliver punishing blow after punishing blow without breaking. These adaptations are already inspiring researchers to engineer biology-mimicking materials that could inspire everything from better boat propellers to safer body armor.

“What makes [mantis shrimp claws] so incredible is that they’re stiff and they’re also tough, which is really kind of an inverse relationship in materials science,” said study researcher David Kisailus, a materials scientist at the University of California, Riverside…

(read more: Live Science)      

(photos: Michael Bok; T - Gonodactylus chiragra, B - G. platysoma)

shedsumlight:Peacock Mantis Shrimp Image: oceanleadership.org 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.  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. 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. View high resolution

shedsumlight:Peacock Mantis Shrimp

Image: oceanleadership.org

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. 

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.

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.

(Reblogged from shedsumlight)
Closeup of a stomatopod crustacean (“mantis shrimp”) Odontodactylus scyllarus taken in the Andaman Sea off Thailand (photo: Silke Baron) View high resolution

Closeup of a stomatopod crustacean (“mantis shrimp”) Odontodactylus scyllarus taken in the Andaman Sea off Thailand

(photo: Silke Baron)

blackkittenclan: illustration of Lysiosquilla maculata, by Alcide d’Orbigny * The Striped Mantis Shrimp, is found across the Indo-Pacific region from East Africa to the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands.At a length of up to 40 cm, L. maculata is the largest mantis shrimp in the world.L. maculata may be distinguished from its congener L. sulcata by the greater number of teeth on the last segment of its raptorial claw, and by the colouration of the uropodal endopod, the distal half of which is dark in L. maculata but not in L. sulcata.There is a small artisanal fishery for this species. (via: Wikipedia)

blackkittenclan: illustration of Lysiosquilla maculata, by Alcide d’Orbigny

* The Striped Mantis Shrimp, is found across the Indo-Pacific region from East Africa to the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands.At a length of up to 40 cm, L. maculata is the largest mantis shrimp in the world.L. maculata may be distinguished from its congener L. sulcata by the greater number of teeth on the last segment of its raptorial claw, and by the colouration of the uropodal endopod, the distal half of which is dark in L. maculata but not in L. sulcata.There is a small artisanal fishery for this species.

(via: Wikipedia)

(Reblogged from blackkittenclan)
Female Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)  Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are an ancient group of marine predators that are only distantly related to other more familiar crustaceans, such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters. While most occur in shallow tropical marine waters, a few species are found in more temperate seas. Although they care called mantis shrimp, they are neither shrimp nor mantid (a species of insect), but received their name due to their resemblance to both praying mantis and shrimp. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colors, from shades of browns to bright neon colors. (text/photo: Roy L. Caldwell, Dept. of Integrative Biol., Univ. of Calif., Berkeley. via: NSF) View high resolution

Female Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) 

Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are an ancient group of marine predators that are only distantly related to other more familiar crustaceans, such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters. While most occur in shallow tropical marine waters, a few species are found in more temperate seas. Although they care called mantis shrimp, they are neither shrimp nor mantid (a species of insect), but received their name due to their resemblance to both praying mantis and shrimp. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colors, from shades of browns to bright neon colors.

(text/photo: Roy L. Caldwell, Dept. of Integrative Biol., Univ. of Calif., Berkeley. via: NSF)

fyeah-seacreatures: A photoset dedicated to Mantis Shrimp. Just because they’re so fucking cool.

* specifically the Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), from the Indo-Pacific :3

(Reblogged from labellum)

lickypickystickyfree:

More gorgeous “shrimp” for your day: The Mantis Shrimp

Despite their name, the mantis shrimps are neither shrimp nor mantises, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the praying mantis and the shrimp. These creatures are sometimes referred to as “thumb splitters” because their claws are strong enough to split human appendages. These highly intelligent creatures are often monogamous and they get to know and regularly interact with their neighbors. The mantis shrimp also has the best eyesight in the animal world with 16 different photoreceptor types (compared to four in humans). But – what really makes these creatures badass is their ability to break out of aquariums by smashing the glass with their claws. It has a punch stronger than a .22 calibre pistol.

and their eyes  could lead to the new generation of DVD players

(Reblogged from allcreatures)
Noisy Shrimp Rumble on the Ocean Floor by Wynne Parry The ocean floor is alive with sound, as snaps, squeaks, hums, grunts and rasps emanate from the animals that inhabit this dimly lit environment. New research has added another contribution to this ruckus: rumbling sounds made by the California mantis shrimp, a burrow-dwelling, predatory crustacean about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) long. The shrimps’ sounds had previously been studied in a laboratory, where researchers found that half of the dozen males made low-frequency rumbling noises, while the females remained silent. The male makes the rumbling sound by vibrating its muscles, using sensory hairs on its body to “hear” rumbles made by others. But scientists, led by Erica Staaterman, then a staff member at the University of Massachusetts, wanted to see how the mantis shrimp (Hemisquilla californiensis) behaved in their natural habitat. So, they set up recording equipment at two locations, near shrimp burrows, off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, Calif., in March during the early mating season… (read more: Live Science)   (photo: Erica Staaterman) View high resolution

Noisy Shrimp Rumble on the Ocean Floor

by Wynne Parry

The ocean floor is alive with sound, as snaps, squeaks, hums, grunts and rasps emanate from the animals that inhabit this dimly lit environment. New research has added another contribution to this ruckus: rumbling sounds made by the California mantis shrimp, a burrow-dwelling, predatory crustacean about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) long.

The shrimps’ sounds had previously been studied in a laboratory, where researchers found that half of the dozen males made low-frequency rumbling noises, while the females remained silent. The male makes the rumbling sound by vibrating its muscles, using sensory hairs on its body to “hear” rumbles made by others.

But scientists, led by Erica Staaterman, then a staff member at the University of Massachusetts, wanted to see how the mantis shrimp (Hemisquilla californiensis) behaved in their natural habitat. So, they set up recording equipment at two locations, near shrimp burrows, off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, Calif., in March during the early mating season…

(read more: Live Science)   (photo: Erica Staaterman)

Mantis shrimp eye could improve high-def DVDs, holographic tech The eye of the peacock mantis shrimp has led an international team of researchers to develop a two-part waveplate that could improve CD, DVD, blu-ray and holographic technology, creating even higher definition and larger storage density. Peacock mantis shrimp are one of only a few animal species that can see circularly polarized light — like the light used to create 3-D movies. Some researchers believe the mantis shrimp’s eyes are better over the entire visual spectrum than any man-made waveplates. A waveplate is a transparent slab that can alter the polarization of light because it is birefringent — exhibits double refraction. The mineral calcite, which is sometimes used as a waveplate, is birefringent. This print viewed through a calcite lens appears as doubled and slightly offset letters… (read more: PhysOrg)   (pictured: Peacock Mantis Shrimp with eggs, by Jenny Huang)

Mantis shrimp eye could improve high-def DVDs, holographic tech

The eye of the peacock mantis shrimp has led an international team of researchers to develop a two-part waveplate that could improve CD, DVD, blu-ray and holographic technology, creating even higher definition and larger storage density.

Peacock mantis shrimp are one of only a few animal species that can see circularly polarized light — like the light used to create 3-D movies. Some researchers believe the mantis shrimp’s eyes are better over the entire visual spectrum than any man-made waveplates. A waveplate is a transparent slab that can alter the polarization of light because it is birefringent — exhibits double refraction. The mineral calcite, which is sometimes used as a waveplate, is birefringent. This print viewed through a calcite lens appears as doubled and slightly offset letters…

(read more: PhysOrg)  

(pictured: Peacock Mantis Shrimp with eggs, by Jenny Huang)

 Gonodactylus platysoma (Gonodactyloidea)…  One of my new favorite stomatopods. G. platysoma has subtle but vibrant color accents and is surprisingly docile (for a stomatopod). (via/photo: Michael Bok) View high resolution

 Gonodactylus platysoma (Gonodactyloidea)…  One of my new favorite stomatopods. G. platysoma has subtle but vibrant color accents and is surprisingly docile (for a stomatopod). (via/photo: Michael Bok)