Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various burrowing predatory marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda, chiefly of tropical waters, having stalked eyes and a pair of knifelike claws that resemble the legs of a praying mantis and are used for striking or spearing prey.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A stomatopodous crustacean of the family Squillidæ, as Squilla mantis or S. empusa: so called from the resemblance to the insect called
mantis . See Gonodactylus, Squilla. Also calledmantis-crab and locust-shrimp. - noun A læmodipodous crustacean of the family Caprellidæ, as Caprella linearis; a specter-shrimp: so called for the same reason as above.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun tropical marine burrowing crustaceans with large grasping appendages
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ruzuzu commented on the word mantis shrimp
Aren't they great? I'm especially fond of the peacock mantis shrimp.
October 28, 2010