Posted on 09/08/2013 8:04:59 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Imagine the number of natural selection pressures and frequent cycles of reproduction it took evolution to equip these tiny creatures with such tools for survival. Reality is so full of wonder!
“Why the Mantis Shrimp is My New Favorite Animal” - The Oatmeal
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp
[Comic, some strong language]
would the mantis shrimp taste good? Probably expensive, with those high tech eyeballs....
Lol, thanks, that was fun! Wow, they can break aquarium glass. Wouldn’t try to pick up one of the little nasties.
You’re welcome, and re picking them up: Not on a bet.
And one of the reasons he made these shrimp is that so we, someday, can learn about how these things work, and maybe use it to improve our vision or communication technology, or ...whatever. All these plants, animals, etc. serve a second (or third, etc.) purpose--they are like "easter eggs" or "secret codes" in video games waiting to be discovered.
Great post, thx!
Science Channel, Wonders of Life, episode 2 discusses the similarity and differences between human eyes and the mantis shrimp eyes. They show it in action near Catalina Island, 26 miles from Los Angeles.
I liked the whole series [taken with a grain or two of salt].
In Cantonese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is known as "pissing shrimp" (攋尿蝦, Mandarin pinyin: lài niào xiā, modern Cantonese: laaih niu hā) because of their tendency to shoot a jet of water when picked up. After cooking, their flesh is closer to that of lobsters than that of shrimp, and like lobsters, their shells are quite hard and require some pressure to crack. Usually they are deep fried with garlic and chili peppers.
In the Mediterranean countries the mantis shrimp Squilla mantis is a common seafood, especially on the Adriatic coasts (canocchia) and the Gulf of Cádiz (galera).
In the Philippines, the mantis shrimp is known as tatampal, hipong-dapa or alupihang-dagat and is cooked and eaten like shrimp. The usual concerns associated with consuming seafood are an issue with mantis shrimp when those dwell in contaminated waters. In Hawaii, some have grown unusually large in the very dirty waters of the Grand Ala Wai Canal in Waikiki.[2]"
~Wikipedia
oh wow..thanks. Better watch out picking up those little buggers though!
No kidding! They’re nasty.
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