Did you know?
- Mantis shrimp live on the bottom of tropical waters and lurk there for their prey, which consists of all kinds of small animals such as shrimp, mussels and krill, but also dead animals that they find on the ground.
- The shrimp typically lives solitary, but some species live in small, loose groups. The males in the groups usually mate with several females.
- The bright colors and shimmering patterns of their bodies are used by some species to exchange signals with one another.
"Smashers" and "Spearers"
When it comes to hunting, mantis shrimp are differentiated between "spearers" and "smashers".
The ends of some legs are very pointed so that they can easily impale or pierce their prey. This is how they get prey that is in harder shells, such as Shellfish.
The smashers let their claw snap out with a lightning-fast movement and targeted muscle power so that the prey has no chance. The speed of their claws is 40 times as fast as a person's blink of an eye. This also makes it easy for the Mantis Shrimp to crack the shell.
