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Nature GuideGuide
mantis shrimp
called Varo in Tahitian, hide in their holes and ambush prey as they pass by. In the time it takes you to blink an eye, the mantis shrimp could have punched 50 times.
The Mantis Shrimp is seldom seen but has an incredible story. They are crustaceans like crabs but they resemble a cross between a lobster and a preying mantis. They have a hard, jointed carapace, and a spread tail similar to a small lobster. The oldest mantis shrimp fossils found date back to 400 million years ago.
Stomatopods are called "mantis shrimps" because of their method of capturing prey, which involves rapidly deploying their “capturing” forelegs to either catch or mutilate. There are over 400 different species of mantis shrimp.