Banded
mantis shrimp
Lysiosquilla sp.
Family Lysiosquillidae
updated
Mar 2020
Where
seen? This mantis shrimp is rarely seen. A pair was seen
dead on Tanah Merah a day after the oil spill. One was seen in Changi.
Features: 6-10cm long. Body broad
and long, colour plain grey or beige with wide dark bars.
The huge
front pincers resemble those of the Praying mantis insect or the blade
of a pocket knife that folds into the handle. Armed
with sharp spines, the pincers extend and retract much faster than
an eye blink and the sharp spines impale soft, fast-moving prey like
fish and prawns.
These shrimps are believed to live in monogamus pairs
Status
and threats: Our mantis shrimps are not listed as endangered.
However, like
other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human
activities such as reclamation and pollution. |
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Tanah Merah, May 10 |
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Tanah Merah, May 10
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Tanah Merah, May 10
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Banded
mantis shrimps on Singapore shores |
Other sightings on Singapore shores |
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Changi, May 09
Photo shared by James Koh on his
blog. |
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Changi, May 10 |
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Cyrene, Jul 12
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his
blog. |
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Cyrene, Apr 24
Photo shared by Kelvin Yong on facebook. |
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Pulau Semakau (South), Jan 22
Photo shared by Kelvin Yong on facebook. |
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Pulau Tekukor, Jan 22
Photo shared by Vincent Choo on facebook. |
Acknowledgements
With
grateful thanks to Dr Tan Swee Hee of the Raffles
Museum of Biodiversity Research for obtaining the identification
of this animal.
References
- Debelius,
Helmut, 2001. Crustacea
Guide of the World: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 321 pp.
- Gosliner,
Terrence M., David W. Behrens and Gary C. Williams. 1996. Coral
Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific: Animal life from Africa to Hawaii
exclusive of the vertebrates
Sea Challengers. 314pp.
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