Odontodactylus scyllarus

Odontodactylus scyllarus, commonly known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, clown mantis shrimp or rainbow mantis shrimp, is a large stomatopod native to the epipelagic seabed across the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Marianas to East Africa, and as far South as Northern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.[2]

Odontodactylus scyllarus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Stomatopoda
Family: Odontodactylidae
Genus: Odontodactylus
Species:
O. scyllarus
Binomial name
Odontodactylus scyllarus
Synonyms[1]
  • Cancer scyllarus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Gonodactylus bleekeri A. Milne-Edwards, 1868
  • Gonodactylus elegans Miers, 1884

In the marine aquarium trade, it is both prized for its attractiveness and considered by others to be a dangerous pest.

Description edit

O. scyllarus is one of the larger, more colourful mantis shrimps commonly seen, ranging in size from 3–18 cm (1.2–7.1 in).[2] They are primarily green with orange legs and leopard-like spots on the anterior carapace.[2]

Their ability to see circularly polarised light has led to studies to determine if the mechanisms by which their eyes operate can be replicated for use in reading CDs and similar optical storage devices.[3][4]

The dactyl club edit

The dactyl club is the most electron-dense region of the stomatopod exoskeleton. From a transverse cross-section, the club can be divided into three different regions: the impact region, the periodic region and the striated region. The mechanical properties of each region has a correlation to the degree of mineralization that is present.[5]

There is a step-like decrease in calcium concentration from the impact region towards the periodic region of the dactyl club, meanwhile the phosphate concentration decreases in a gradient manner. Alongside this the carbon and magnesium concentrations increases in the same region, hence stipulating that the impact region is mainly composed of calcium phosphate while the rest of the club contains a combination of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. The impact region has shown to be mainly composed of hydroxyapatite, with a higher degree of crystallinity compared to that found in bovine bone.[6]

Ecology edit

 
Peacock mantis shrimp in Anilao, Philippines

Odontodactylus scyllarus is a burrower, constructing U-shaped holes in the loose substrate near the bases of coral reefs in water ranging from 3 to 40 metres (9.8 to 131.2 ft) deep.[2]

O. scyllarus is a smasher, with club-shaped raptorial appendages.[2] An agile and active intertidal and sub-intertidal predator,[7] it prefers gastropods, crustaceans, and bivalves,[2] and will repeatedly deliver blunt force to the exoskeleton of its prey until it can gain access to the underlying soft tissue for consumption. It is reported to have a "punch" of over 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), the fastest recorded punch of any living animal. The acceleration is similar to that in a .22 LR bullet fired from a handgun (accelerations of over 100,000 m/s2 or 330,000 ft/s2 (more than 10,000 g), and speeds of over 20 m/s or 66 ft/s), with each strike packing 1,500 N (340 lbf) of force.[8] The speed of a raptorial appendage's strike causes cavitation bubbles to form. When those bubbles pop they release a large amount of heat, temporarily raising temperatures to near those at the surface of the Sun and further weakening the armor of their prey.[9][10] In addition, the surface of its hammer-claw is made up of extremely dense hydroxyapatite, laminated in a manner that is highly resistant to fracturing and can break ordinary glass tanks. Its composition is being investigated for potential bionic use in material engineering.[11][12]

Aquaria edit

Some saltwater aquarists keep peacock mantis shrimp in captivity.[13] The peacock mantis is especially colourful and desired in the trade.[citation needed]

While some aquarists value peacock shrimp, others consider them harmful pests because they are voracious predators that will eat other desirable inhabitants in the tank. Some of the largest specimens can break aquarium glass by striking it and can do further damage by burrowing in live rock. Live rock with mantis shrimp burrows is considered useful by some in the marine aquarium trade and is often collected. It is not uncommon for a piece of live rock to convey a live mantis shrimp in an aquarium. Once inside the tank, they may feed on fish, shrimps, and other inhabitants. They are notoriously difficult to re-catch once established in a well-stocked tank,[14] and there are accounts of them breaking glass tanks and damaging coral when they wish to make a home within it.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ S. Ahyong. "Odontodactylus scyllarus (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Roy Caldwell. "Species: Odontodactylus scyllarus". Roy's List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  3. ^ John Roach (June 27, 2011). "Shrimp eyes inspire optical tech". MSNBC. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  4. ^ Yi-Jun Jen; Akhlesh Lakhtakia; Ching-Wei Yu; Chia-Feng Lin; Meng-Jie Lin; Shih-Hao Wang; Jyun-Rong Lai (2011). "Biologically inspired achromatic waveplates for visible light". Nature Communications. 2: 363. Bibcode:2011NatCo...2..363J. doi:10.1038/ncomms1358. PMID 21694711.
  5. ^ James C. Weaver; Garrett W. Milliron; Ali Miserez; Kenneth Evans-Lutterodt; Steven Herrera; Isaias Gallana; William J. Mershon; Brook Swanson; Pablo Zavattieri; Elaine DiMasi; David Kisailus (2012). "The stomatopod dactyl club: a formidable damage-tolerant biological hammer". Science. 336 (6086): 1275–1280. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1275W. doi:10.1126/science.1218764. PMID 22679090. S2CID 8509385.
  6. ^ James C. Weaver; Garrett W. Milliron; Ali Miserez; Kenneth Evans-Lutterodt; Steven Herrera; Isaias Gallana; William J. Mershon; Brook Swanson; Pablo Zavattieri; Elaine DiMasi; David Kisailus (2012). "The stomatopod dactyl club: a formidable damage-tolerant biological hammer". Science. 336 (6086): 1275–1280. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1275W. doi:10.1126/science.1218764. PMID 22679090. S2CID 8509385.
  7. ^ Caldwell, Roy L.; Dingle, Hugh (1975). "Ecology and evolution of agonistic behavior in stomatopods". Die Naturwissenschaften. 62 (5): 214–222. Bibcode:1975NW.....62..214C. doi:10.1007/bf00603166. ISSN 0028-1042. S2CID 31945657.
  8. ^ Patek, S. N.; Caldwell, R. L. (October 2005). "Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 208 (Pt 19): 3655–64. doi:10.1242/jeb.01831. PMID 16169943. S2CID 312009.
  9. ^ Cox, Suzanne (2016-11-14). The Consequences of Speed: Studies of Cavitation During the Mantis Shrimp Strike and the Control of Rapid Deceleration During Toad Landing. Doctoral Dissertations (Thesis). doi:10.7275/8738277.0.
  10. ^ Patek, S. N.; Caldwell, R. L. (2005-10-01). "Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus". Journal of Experimental Biology. 208 (19): 3655–3664. doi:10.1242/jeb.01831. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 16169943.
  11. ^ Sarah Everts (2012). "How a peacock shrimp packs a punch: layered structure is behind animal's resilient club". Chemical & Engineering News. 90 (24): 6. doi:10.1021/cen-09024-notw3. Archived from the original on 2012-06-11.
  12. ^ James C. Weaver; Garrett W. Milliron; Ali Miserez; Kenneth Evans-Lutterodt; Steven Herrera; Isaias Gallana; William J. Mershon; Brook Swanson; Pablo Zavattieri; Elaine DiMasi; David Kisailus (2012). "The stomatopod dactyl club: a formidable damage-tolerant biological hammer". Science. 336 (6086): 1275–1280. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1275W. doi:10.1126/science.1218764. PMID 22679090. S2CID 8509385.
  13. ^ Fatheree, James (2008). "A Load of Learnin' About Mantis Shrimps". Reefkeeping.
  14. ^ Nick Dakin (2004). The Marine Aquarium. London: Andromeda. ISBN 978-1-902389-67-7.
  15. ^ April Holladay (September 1, 2006). "Shrimp spring into shattering action". USA Today.

External links edit