Mantis shrimp
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Subclass:	Hoplocarida
Order:	Stomatopoda Latreille, 1817

A colourful stomatopod, the peacock mantis shrimp, (Odontodactylus scyllarus) seen in the Andaman Sea off Thailand

Mantis shrimps are crustacean stomatopods.

They are not actually shrimps, but members of the order Stomatopoda. There are about 400 species.

They are predators which kill their prey by hitting them at high speed.

They hold their body in a manner like that of a praying mantis, and have large, complex eyes. Some species can be 30 cm long.

They are highly coloured, and live in shallow tropical and subtropical habitats such as coral reefs.