The polarisation of light is used by many species of cephalopods and crustaceans to discriminate objects or to communicate. Most visual systems with this ability, such as that of the fiddler crab, include receptors with photopigments that are oriented horizontally and vertically relative to the outside world. Photoreceptors in such an orthogonal array are maximally sensitive to polarised light ...

Some stomatopod crustacean species that inhabit a range of habitat depths have color vision systems that adapt to changes in ambient light conditions. To date, this change in retinal function has been demonstrated in species within the superfamily Gonodactyloidea in response to varying the spectral range of light. Intrarhabdomal filters in certain ommatidia within the specialized midband of the...

Nature has evolved efficient strategies to synthesize complex mineralized structures that exhibit exceptional damage tolerance. One such example is found in the hypermineralized hammer-like dactyl clubs of the stomatopods, a group of highly aggressive marine crustaceans. The dactyl clubs from one species, Odontodactylus scyllarus, exhibit an impressive set of characteristics adapted for survivi...

Stomatopod crustaceans have complex visual systems capable of excellent spatial, colour and polarization vision. Accordingly, visual signals are used widely in their intraspecific communication behaviour. We tested the role of a particular visual signal thought to be important in mate choice in a stomatopod crustacean Haptosquilla trispinosa, by manipulating the ability of a brightly blue colou...

Stomatopods (mantis shrimps) possess apposition compound eyes that contain more photoreceptor types than any other animal described. This has been achieved by sub-dividing the eye into three morphologically discrete regions, a mid-band and two laterally placed hemispheres, and within the mid-band, making simple modifications to a commonly encountered crustacean photoreceptor pattern of eight ph...

VIDEO ABSTRACT Stomatopod crustaceans, or mantis shrimp, are renowned for their complex visual systems. Their array of 16 types of photoreceptors provides complex color reception, as well as linear and circular polarization sensitivity [1-6]. The least-understood components of their retina are the UV receptors, of which there are up to six distinct, narrowly tuned spectral types [4]. Here we sh...

Like many marine crustaceans, mantis shrimp rely on their sense of smell to find food, mates, and habitat. In order for olfaction to function, odorant molecules in the surrounding fluid must gain access to the animal's chemosensors. Thus fluid motion is important for olfaction, both in terms of the large scale fluid movements (currents, waves, etc.) that advect the odorants to the vicinity of t...