Mantis Shrimp

Another set of photos from Ayu :

(Peacock Mantis Shrimp)

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.

(Peacock Mantis Shrimp)

(From Wikipedia)

~ These aggressive and typically solitary sea creatures spend most of their time hiding in rock formations or burrowing intricate passageways in the sea-bed.

~ Around 400 species of mantis shrimp have currently been described worldwide; all living species are in the suborder Unipeltata. They are commonly separated into two distinct groups determined by the manner of claws they possess:

~ The Eyes : The midband region of the mantis shrimps eye is made up of six rows of specialized ommatidia. Four rows carry 16 differing sorts of photoreceptor pigments, 12 for colour sensitivity, others for colour filtering.

~ Their eyes (both mounted on mobile stalks and constantly moving about independently of each other) are similarly variably coloured, and are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom.

~ Mantis shrimp are long-lived and exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting.

Many of d lovely photos found in the net,
...SubhanAllah سبحان الله
(Glory be to Allah)....

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