No photo available
Peacock mantis shrimp
Odontodactylus scyllarus
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 220297, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Peacock mantis shrimp
- Scientific
- Odontodactylus scyllarus
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Mantis shrimps
- Maximum size
- Up to about 17 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Reef-associated, recorded from 0 to 100 m
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
The peacock mantis shrimp is a brightly coloured mantis shrimp, green to blue with orange-red legs and spotted shields. It lives in burrows on sand and rubble near reefs and smashes open snails, crabs and clams with hammer-like claws, striking with one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom. Its eyes are among the most complex known.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=47, 38 observers).
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Odontodactylus-scyllarus.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=220297
- inaturalist.org /taxa/119395
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Odontodactylus_scyllarus_Réunion.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.