Spearer Mantis Shrimp

While exploring steep banks and island slopes in the shallow (250-500 meters) depths of Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary, we were lucky enough to come across a few mantis shrimp. Crustaceans in the order Stomatopoda, mantis shrimp have a reputation for violence -- some species are known to “punch” with their claws. The ones spotted during this dive are not “smashers” but rather “spearers”— meaning that instead of hardened, calcified clubs, they have spears with barbed spines that they use to impale prey. As you can see in the video, they tend to hide themselves in burrows or crevices so they can jump out and attack prey.

The Hawaiian Archipelago is home to 17 species of mantis shrimp, with 3 endemic to the islands. Sanctuaries like Papahānaumokuākea provide important protected habitat for mantis shrimp and their ocean associates. This dive inside the monument took place along the previously unsurveyed western margin of a carbonate platform capping Ōnūnui and Ōnuiki (also referred to as Pūhāhonu or Gardner Pinnacles).

Ocean Exploration Trust's NA182 Exploration of the Hawaiian Islands is funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.