Mantis Shrimp

Photo: terence zahner · CC BY-NC

Peacock mantis shrimp inhabit burrows in the rubble around the pinnacle bases at Solomon Sea Gardens, venturing out to hunt with one of the fastest and most powerful strikes in the animal kingdom — their calcified smashing clubs accelerate at 10,000g and deliver blows with the force of a small caliber bullet. They perceive color through 16 types of photoreceptors (humans have 3), and their compound eyes can move independently, giving them 360-degree stereoscopic vision that makes them virtually impossible to approach undetected.