Awesome: “exhibiting or marked by awe; showing reverence, admiration, or fear. Slang. very impressive”…
Awesome is the perfect word to describe one the oceans most colourful and wonderful critters, the Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), part of the Stomatopod family. Here in South Lombok we see many of these incredible predators on our dive sites and we can’t get enough of them. For those of you who don’t already know about Mantis Shrimp here are some facts to highlight their natural awesomeness:
Mantis shrimps are reported to have a “punch” of over 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). This is the fastest recorded punch of any living animal. The acceleration is similar to that in a .22 caliber handgun, with 340 pounds-force (1,500 N)[4] per strike… Glass aquaria can be broken by them. – Wikipedia, Science
Whilst humans can see 3 colours (red, green, blue) the Mantis Shrimp has 16 photoreceptors and can see UV, visible and polarised light. In fact, they are the only animals known to detect circularly polarised light, which is when the wave component of light rotates in a circular motion. They also can perceive depth with one eye and move each eye independently. – phys.org
Stomatopods began evolving independently from other crustaceans nearly 400 million years ago, about 170 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared on the scene. – metalfloss.com
Still not convinced? Just do a YouTube search for “Mantis Shrimp vs Octopus” or “Mantis Shrimp vs Crab” or “Mantis Shrimp vs……” well pretty much any Mantis Shrimp search and prepare to be impressed by this incredible creature.
The natural habitat of the Mantis Shrimp means you can see these beauties on most dive profiles around the Southern Gilis, from Discover Scuba Dives to the Deep Specialty, you’ll be in for a treat just like our newly arrived PADI Divemaster Trainees (sisters Malina and Luisa) who got to see one wiggling its way across their skills practice!
In other news from Two Fish Divers Lombok Resort (AKA the Dive Farm, due to the friendly animals we have wandering around), the weather is getting warmer as the season changes and we’re looking forward to calmer dives in Belongas with fewer crazy currents so we can enjoy the amazing reef and macro in this biodiverse part of the world. We may be entering the traditional “low season” for this part of the world but as one of the worlds original locations for healthy reefs and fish populations you’d be crazy to miss Southern Lombok on your next dive trip.
If you’d like to make a reservation to dive with us, or for more information, fill in the contact form below and we will get right back to you!
