Lights, Color, Action

the Peacock Mantis Shrimp                                                    Samuel van Eldik

Meet the mantis shrimp. Really? Shrimp, yes; praying mantis, yes. But mantis shrimp? Qué es? Well, first of all, it is for real ~ I googled it. But it doesn't seem like it could really exist. For one thing, there are about 400 species of this little guy (that we know of so far). Their eyes have 16 color-receptors, as opposed to our 3. They usually grow to about a foot long, and yet most of them can break through aquarium glass. Their attack is so fast, it creates a shock wave that will stun or kill their prey even if its initial strike doesn't. It's also so fast that it produces sonoluminescence, or bursts of light coming from imploding bubbles. (Thank you, Pike, for introducing me to this fascinating little creature) (infocomic): http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp