Aquarium dealers and owners tried to domesticate these shrimp for their incredible colors - once. The manner that these mantis kill their prey is to use the two front claws, pictured here in white with orange and red polka-dots, to bust apart a crustacean's shell to pieces. The shrimp can break more than just shells with those mits: fingers and aquarium glass present no difficulty. Another name for the peacock mantis is "smasher."

12/17/04 10:48:37 AM
Country: Myanmar (Burma)
Area/City: Myanmar
Speed: 1/100 sec
Aperture: f8.0
ISO: 64
Focal Length: 21.3 mm
Flash: