Tuesday

Toughest Guy On The Planet

The Mantis Shrimp is not mantis or shrimp… in fact, in many ways, this ocean tough guy is in a class all his own. They are divided into two groups by the type of weapon God has given them: spearers and smashers.

The smashers have two clubs they use to pulverize their prey, and crack hard shells. They have been known to break aquarium glass. The spearers have razor sharp spears with which they can quickly skewer or dismember their prey. Reef divers call them “thumb splitters.” These are predators to avoid.

These coral reef brutes have the fastest moving appendages on earth. Their weapons move at the speed of a 22 caliber bullet. That's 50 times faster than you can blink. So fast they can generate light in the surrounding molecules. The system design necessary to move this fast is amazingly complex and precise. This speed wears on the components, so these body parts are replaced by molting a few times a year.

There are many unique attributes to this ruffian, but their eyes stand out… literally. Their two compound eyes are constantly moving independent of each other on the end of mobile stalks. They have the most powerfully complex eyes on earth. Each eye has over 10,000 clusters of photoreceptor cells divided into three sections. This means they have trinocular vision in each eye. Humans only have binocular using both eyes. These eagle eyed muggers have over 10 different photoreceptor types which allow them to see ultraviolet, infrared, and detect 3 planes of polarized light. Some live for 30 years, and are monogamous. Our Creator is amazing!

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