Random Incredible Things You Didn't Know About Mantis Shrimp, Tiny Hulks Of Sea (14 items)

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  (#2) They Can Speak In Secret Code

  Most animals have a language that confuses or completely eludes us, but mantis shrimp take their language one step further. Rather than just making noises, mantis shrimp have found a way to communicate with each other in a super secret code.

  Researchers discovered that, in order to communicate via secret code, mantis shrimp will bounce polarized light off their bodies in different patterns to get their point across. Their bodies have areas called maxillipeds, and there are spots of color on these appendages. The mantis shrimp has the ability to bounce and manipulate the light to scatter across the spot's surface, and then other mantis shrimp interpret those signals. Other animals can't understand or see this.
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  (#11) They're Very Secretive And Live Underground

  When you think of shrimp, you might think of them moving in a large group. However, mantis shrimp are not truly shrimp, and they tend to be very solitary creatures. When they do mate, they're monogamous for long term, and they tend to be very protective of their homes from others. Even other species can become targets just from getting too close. 

  Mantis shrimp are able to survive in cracks and rock crevices without any real problem. That being said, they mostly prefer to live in underground burrows, which they dig themselves. They can create intricate passageways and burrows throughout the sea bed, which means they don't have to come out to move around the sea floor very often. Because of this, they are incredibly difficult for scientists to study and research, and they are seen as very secretive creatures. 
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  (#7) They Make Super Creepy Noises

  Although mantis shrimp can communicate though their light-reflecting code, that's not to say they always remain silent. While the females are relatively quiet, the males are more than willing to cause a stir, especially during the dusk and evening hours, when they're most active.

  During that period, the mantis shrimp tends to hunt the most, and moves about in order to protect its home. One means of protection is to scare others away, and it does this by trying to sound as menacing as possible. The males will make a low frequency rumbling noise, like a distant earthquake or thunder. Others creatures feel the noise more than hear it. They also make popping and creaking noises, like you're in some kind of haunted house. When they do fight each other, they call back and forth in a sort of rumbling chorus as they battle, letting other animals know to stay far away.
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  (#6) They Have The Best Eyesight In The World

  It makes sense the mantis shrimp would have such incredible eyesight, considering how brilliant their eyes look. That secret code they communicate in can only be seen by other mantis shrimp, and that's because they have the best eyes in the animal kingdom.

  While they have trouble differentiating between specific color hues, their eyes are able to see things that ours can't. Each eye has 12 photoreceptors, whereas humans have a mere two. They may be able to see colors we can't even comprehend. What we do know is that they can see and perceive light and shapes far differently and better than us. Scientists have come to believe that mantis shrimp take in all visual information they come across, and that it goes directly into their brains without passing through any sort of processing. This, along with their independently roaming eyes and trinocular vision, make mantis shrimp amazing at reacting to their surroundings in the blink of an eye.
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  (#4) Their Attacks Can Move Faster Than Bullets

  There are few animals out there who can pack more of a punch than this creature. Many mantis shrimp species tend to eat clams and other hard-shelled mollusks. They can afford to do this because they can attack with their super-hard claws with all the speed of a .22 caliber bullet. Those little claws move so fast the human eye cannot detect them, and impact  a surface with more than 160 pounds of force. The attack doesn't even have to be perfectly on target, because the shockwave they create as they move can be deadly all on its own. They also tend to be predatory in nature, so whether it's a fish, mussel, or potential enemy, the mantis shrimp is going to take them down.

  In some cultures, the mantis shrimp is known as the "thumb splitter," and given this information, it's easy to see why.
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  (#9) They Can Vaporize Water Just By Moving

  When a mantis shrimp attacks or decides to move with haste, the consequences on its surroundings can be drastic. For example, the mantis shrimp can move so fast it flash-boils the water around its body or its mandibles. This causes the water to vaporize suddenly, then implode with a sharp bang that can actually be heard by nearby creatures. The bang is accompanied by a shockwave that passes through the water as an added blow against enemies or prey. The heat from the boiling and vaporized water can also harm other animals, which makes a mantis shrimp attack a triple threat: speed, impact, and heat. 

  Some mantis shrimp spear their prey rather than smashing it, and these stabbing mandibles can move just as quickly. They can impale prey so fast that no one ever saw it coming, and can be then used to dismember the prey for eating.

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