MANTIS SHRIMP'D

Hol. Y. Shit.

Have you seen a mantis shrimp? They are fucking amazing. If not, now you will see one.


This mantis shrimp is like who the fuck are you. Note: This shrimp immediately killed the photographer and the camera was recovered from the bottom of the ocean 10 years later.

Mantis shrimp are the greatest species on Earth and by far the most bad ass. Humans don't even come close. In fact, we fail epically when compared to the mighty mantis. I will now quote Wikipedia to the prove this to you.

"the relative ease the creature has in mutilating small appendages"

"mantis shrimp sport powerful claws that they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment"

"some larger species of mantis shrimp are capable of breaking through aquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon"

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

"unlike most crustaceans, [they] actually hunt, chase and kill living prey"

"Around 400 species of mantis shrimp have currently been described... They are commonly separated into two distinct groups determined by the manner of claws they possess:
-Spearers are armed with spiny appendages topped with barbed tips, used to stab and snag prey
-Smashers, on the other hand, possess a much more developed club and a more rudimentary spear (which is nevertheless quite sharp and still used in fights between their own kind); the club is used to bludgeon and smash their meals apart. The "punch" delivered has roughly the acceleration of a .22 caliber bullet. The inner aspect of the dactyl (the terminal portion of the appendage) can also possess a sharp edge, with which the animal can cut prey while it swims."

"Both types strike by rapidly unfolding and swinging their raptorial claws at the prey, and are capable of inflicting serious damage on victims significantly greater in size than themselves"

"Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1,500 N that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey."

"The snap can also produce sonoluminescence from the collapsing bubble. This will produce a very small amount of light and high temperatures in the range of several thousand kelvin within the collapsing bubble"

"Mantis shrimp possess hyperspectral colour vision, allowing up to 12 colour channels extending in the ultraviolet. 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."

"Some species have at least 16 different photoreceptor types..., 12 of them for colour analysis in the different wavelengths (including four which are sensitive to ultraviolet light) and four of them for analysing polarised light. By comparison, humans have only four visual pigments."

"Mantis shrimp appear to be highly intelligent, are long-lived and exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting.... They can learn and remember well, and are able to recognise individual neighbours with whom they frequently interact. They can recognise them by visual signs and even by individual smell. Many have developed a complex social behaviour to defend their space from rivals."

"In the monogamous species, the mantis shrimp remain with the same partner for up to 20 years. They share the same burrow, and there are reasons to suspect that these pairs can coordinate their activities. Both sexes often take care of the eggs (biparental care)."

So what if I only have one source and the majority of this blog is from Wikipedia? Mantis shrimp sure don't give a fuck. Uni-sourcing, like mantis shrimp, is the most bad ass thing around.