Peacock mantis shrimp. by Peter Stubley

Peter Stubley | all galleries >> Underwater >> Underwater Bali, 2008 > Peacock mantis shrimp.


30-APR-2008

Peacock mantis shrimp.

Quite a difference from lobsters I have seen in the Caribbean.... Adds a whole new level to "colourful"!

Later addition: I had this one mislabeled as a lobster, at least partly because I could not imagine something this large would be called a "shrimp." At least not to its face ;)

Nikon D200
1/250s f/25.0 at 60.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Guest		07-Feb-2010 04:14
Absolutley fantastic photo! I love these little creatures. It is a "type" of lobster but it's called a Mantis Shrimp if your interested. Very fascinating, vicious little things, in fact they throw the fastest and most powerful strike or "punch" of any animal in the world! Here's a little info on them for those interested; They strike by rapidly unfolding and swinging their raptorial claws at the prey, and are capable of inflicting serious damage on victims significantly greater in size than themselves. Their two deadly weapons are employed with blinding quickness, with an acceleration of 10400 g's and speeds of 23 m/s from a standing start, about the acceleration of a .22 calibre bullet. Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produce about 75% of the initial strike force on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1500 newton that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike, first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey. Many aquarium hobbiests who have kept a mantis shrimp have come home to an aquarium in pieces since a single hit can (and most likely will) shatter aquarium glass. Seriously impressive if you ask me! If that's not enough, their eyesight is second to none. Each eye can move independently and can focus on objects with three different areas, giving the mantis shrimp "trinocular vision". While we see in three colours, they see in twelve, and they can tune individual light-sensitive cells depending on local light levels. They can even see a special type of light called 'circularly polarised light' that no other animal can. They contains a technology that's very similar to that found in CD and DVD players, but it completely outclasses (by a substantial margin)anything that man has made yet. Unbelievable is the word I would use to describe them! Sorry about the long-winded post but I am very intrigued by these little beasties as they have even more amazing traits that aren't found anywhere else! Thanks for listening! Cheers

David Chauvin		29-Jun-2008 18:56
What an awesome creature,,,,the colors are phenomenal!

poetry666		29-Jun-2008 15:45
This is fascinating Peter. Excellent work!!! Vote.

Guest		29-Jun-2008 15:30
wow and a great abstract.

Jess. ( Lady.D.)		29-Jun-2008 15:27
My oh my look at those eyes, terrific colour..

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