That's a peacock mantis. Others are green, brown, various shades and patterns.

There are 2 general types--those with claws modified to resemble a club, and those with claws modified into sharp knives. The clubbers can break glass, the knives can split thumbs.

They have one of the fastest movements of any animal, marine or otherwise, can see more colors than most other creatures, and are very bright, quickly learning mazes and how to overcome an obstacle to their food.

I kept one in a tank for a while, and there was never any doubt that while I was watching him, he was also watching me.

Here is another photo:





That is gorgeous!

Looks like it might not taste bad either, boiled with a butter/garlic dipping sauce... Mmmmmm

From Dr. Roy Caldwell.
Location: Berkeley, CA, USA



Eating Stomatopods
In response to the story about the "giant" Lysiosquillina maculata in Hawaii, I tought I would include a few comments about eating stomatopods.

Mantis shrimp are eaten around the world. I've tried them most places I've worked and have collected a fair number of recipes. When I get my scanner back up and working, I'll attach a few photos from cookbooks.

In Italy, Squilla mantis is commercially fished and is nearly always available in fish markets. It is depicted being eaten in several Roman mosaics and some people claim it was the original scampi. I've had it many times in Venice and Trieste. At the first and only all stomatopod conference held in Triest well over 100 lbs of Squilla mantis was served at the banquet as an appetizer. Squilla is even prepared as a special feast item for a holiday in November (I can't remember which Saint's holiday this is for.) Preparation is usually simple - boiled and finished with garlic, butter and parsley.

In Japan, squillids are served in many ways. Shako is stomatopod sushi. There is also one region where a local specialty is a bun sort of like a hot-cross bun backed with a newley molted, soft stomatopod inside. A friend of mine who works on stomatopod was recently being wined and dined in Tokyo and was served stomatopods by Geishas. They picked out for him just the meat from the merus of the raptorial appendages.

In Thailand, many spearers including Harpiosquilla harpax are eaten. A common way to prepare them is to roast them on a stick. Females full of eggs are preferred because of the high fat content of the ripe ovaries.

In Indonesia, it is not uncommon to be served a plate full of boiled Odontodactylus scyllarus - a dozen or so adults for a couple of dollars.

Lysiosquillina maculata is perhaps the most commonly eaten stoamtopod. Almost everywhere it occurs in the Indo-Pacific it is eaten. It has been almost completely fished out of Tahiti and Moorea where a large animal in the fishmarket will bring well over $50. A few years ago, there was a French Polynesian stamp depicting a pair of L. maculata on a banana leaf. On the other side of the stamp was a recipe for Varo (the local name for stomatopods) cooked in butter, parsley and garlic.

Personally, I prefer Squilla mantis to Lysiosquillina. The only way I really like gonodactylids is boiled in beer and the tails stuffed with blue cheese and madeira.

They're so colorful! I love how many things are in our oceans that we don't even know about.