Kingdom:

Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
Common name(s):

Animalia
Arthropoda
Crustacea
Malacostraca
Stomatopoda
Pseudosquillidae
Pseudosquilla
P. ciliata
Common mantis shrimp, Rainbow mantis shrimp, Ciliated mantis
shrimp, Checkered eye mantis shrimp, and Alupihang dagat

General Background:
Pseudosquilla ciliata belongs to the order Stomatopoda, where all mantis shrimps are
placed. Thus, they are called stomatopods. The name mantis shrimp derived from its similarities
to both the mantis and the shrimp. However, they are not considered true shrimps because of
their possession of specialized prey-capturing/killing limbs known as raptorial appendages.
Mantis shrimps may either be a smasher or a spearer. Smashers possess a club that is used to
smash their prey. Spearers, on the other hand, are armed with spiny appendages topped with
barbed tips that are used to stab prey. Both types strike by rapidly swinging at an acceleration of
102,000 m/s and a speed of 25 m/s in smashers and slower speeds in spearers. Smashers eat
hard-shelled organisms like crabs snails, and rock oysters while spearers prefer softer prey such
as fish, shrimps, and worms. P. ciliata is considered a spearer. Because of their aggressiveness,
they are not considered pets but can be placed in a secure aquarium with suitable cohabitants like
gastropods and large crabs. Aquarium require a temperature of 21-28 C, salinity of 33-36 PSU,
and a sand base where the mantis shrimp can dig its burrow.
2

Body Features/Dimensions:

The distinguishing characteristics of P. ciliata are: stalked cylindrical eyes with a

hemispherical cornea, spineless rostral plate, carapace with no black spots, telson with three
keel-like ridges on either side of a central ridge, and uropod bases terminating in two slender
flattened spines, where the innermost is shorter. They can grow a total length of 9.5 cm (3.7
inches) long. Color varies upon its habitat. Species living in seagrass beds often turn green, while
species living in coralline algae will often turn red. The colors range from yellow to near black
and may be plain, striped, or marbled. Eyes of mantis shrimps recognize colors unimaginable by
other species as they possess 16 types of color receptive cones. Humans possess only 3 types.

Nutrition:
Spearers are usually ambush predators but a few species hunt away from their burrow,
including Pseudosquilla ciliata. They forage during the day and stay in the burrow during the
night. This is because low tides during the day forces large fish predators off the reef. They
primarily feed on soft-bodied prey such as shrimp, small fish, and annelids. However, they may
also eat small crabs and even other stomatopods.
Reproduction:
Naturally, males normally have to court the females. In P. ciliata, however, the mating
roles are reversed. Females court males through various visual displays. Males usually prefer
females bigger than their own body size. Once a male has chosen a suitable mate, copulation
begins.
Females have paired ovaries and cement glands that secrete a substance to hold eggs
together during brooding. Males have paired testes, and penes on their last pair of walking legs.
After copulation, the female stores sperm in the seminal receptacle which is connected to the
oviduct where gonopores are released. When the female is ready to spawn, it deposits cement
gland material along with the eggs and provides maternal care until it hatches. After the eggs
hatch, planktonic larvae leave the burrow and go through several developmental stages to
become adults.

Population Distribution

P. ciliata is widely distributed in shallow seas across the tropical Indo-Pacific region and
on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is usually found burrowing in sandy and muddy areas and
in seagrass beds. It can also be found in coral rubble, under boulders, and on rocky sea flats. Its
depth range is from the lower shore down to a depth of at least 86 m (282 ft.)