Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Awesome Mantis Shrimp

Mantis Shrimp Boasts Most Advanced Eyes A mantis shrimp, or stomatopod, scans an area using two compound eyes that are mounted on two high stalks which enable each eye to move independently. "It is like having 10,000 telescopes looking out at the world," Caldwell said. Each eye is broken up into three sections and each of these sections has a pseudo-pupil, something very similar to a human's pupil. Because each one of these sections has the ability to see an object the mantis shrimp is able to triangulate the depth of any object using only one eye. In addition to their advanced depth perception, stomatopods have an extensive ability to see polarized light. [...] These stomatopods also have an incredible ability to see color. One look at the vibrant shell of a stomatopod will tell you that color is very important to their life. It is essential for identification and other aspects of their life. "Where our eyes have three different photopigments dedicated to see color, some stomatopods have as many as a dozen different pigments," Caldwell said. Full Article...
But that's not all, they also posses a club which is used to bludgeon and smash their meals apart with an acceleration of 10,400 g and speeds of 23 m/s from a standing start. Sometimes referred to as "thumb splitters" by modern divers — because of the relative ease the creature has in mutilating small appendages They can reach up to 18 cm, they will kill most other tank occupants in an aquarium, and can break very thick aquarium glass. It is for these reasons that they are often kept as solitary creatures in acrylic tanks. They are active, intelligent, curious animals, capable of interacting with their keepers. Mantis Shrimp @ wiki.
Mantis Shrimp vs Crab Also found a TED Talk on the Mantis Shrimp.

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