Why is this animal unusual?
Its club shoots out about as fast as a bullet leaving a small gun. The strike is so quick that it tears the water apart, creating a bubble that collapses with a flash of light and heat. So the prey gets hit twice: once by the club, once by the shockwave.
Why does it look like that?
There are two kinds. “Smashers” have clubs for cracking open shells. “Spearers” have barbed spikes for stabbing fish. Both are folded under the head like the arms of a praying mantis – hence the name.
Strangest biological feature
The eyes. Humans have three types of colour sensors. A mantis shrimp has twelve or more, and it can see ultraviolet and polarised light. Each eye also moves on its own and judges distance by itself.
Why is it strange?
Here’s the twist: despite all those sensors, tests show mantis shrimp are worse than us at telling similar colours apart. They seem to recognise colours instantly instead of comparing them.
Interesting behavioral facts
Some species pair up for life and share a burrow for as long as 20 years. Rivals settle arguments by trading blows on each other’s armoured tails.
Records held
One of the fastest strikes in the animal kingdom. Its club is so tough that engineers copy its structure for body armour and aircraft materials.
