Peacock Mantis Shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus
I wish I had photos that would do justice to this amazing animal. The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is one of several carnivorous "mantis shrimp"
but has several special powers. It is also called the Rainbow, Harlequin and Painted Mantis Shrimp and is certainly brightly multi-coloured with a turquoise
head, green body with black spots, and red legs. It is native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, grows to 5-18cm (2-7 inches) long
and preys on marine molluscs and crustaceans.
Its three most amazing properties other than its bizarre but colourful appearance are:
- an ability to see, with its protruding white eyeballs, billions more colours than humans can see. We have 3 colour receptor cell types able to see about a million colour shades. It has 16 types, able to see billions. It can see circularly polarised light and its eye mechanisms have been studied for scientific use in optical storage devices like CDs.
- it has a punch like a bullet, despite its small size. The explosive force it uses to punch a hole in shells of its prey is as fast as a bullet and creates temperatures said to be briefly as hot as near the sun's surface. It can break the glass of a standard aquarium tank with its strike.
- the claw it uses to hammer its prey is laminated to resist fracture. The material is being studied for engineering and bionic uses.
- an ability to see, with its protruding white eyeballs, billions more colours than humans can see. We have 3 colour receptor cell types able to see about a million colour shades. It has 16 types, able to see billions. It can see circularly polarised light and its eye mechanisms have been studied for scientific use in optical storage devices like CDs.
- it has a punch like a bullet, despite its small size. The explosive force it uses to punch a hole in shells of its prey is as fast as a bullet and creates temperatures said to be briefly as hot as near the sun's surface. It can break the glass of a standard aquarium tank with its strike.
- the claw it uses to hammer its prey is laminated to resist fracture. The material is being studied for engineering and bionic uses.