Mantis shrimp in Taiwan

In Snake Alley, Taipei:

Seems silly to ID something before it's eaten, huh? I've never had mantis shrimp, I don't think, but I got the guy to hold one up for a photo. I'd be too scared to pick one up.

silly question .. maybe ... why too scared to pick one up ?

scared you'd hurt it ? damage it and have to buy it !!

or scared it would hurt you ? can they hurt us ?

It might be Oratosquilla oratoria which is reported to be one of the few commercial species in Asia. http://www.hku.hk/ecology/porcupine/por28/...ntis.htm#index1 has pictures of common species around Hong Kong including O. oratoria. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-03/...e/index.phpsome is a Reefkeeping Online Magazine article about stomatopods that has some good images plus a lot of great information.

Years ago I had mantis shrimp at a sushi bar. I remember it was extremely sweet & succulent - far better than lobster.

silly question .. maybe ... why too scared to pick one up ?

 

scared you'd hurt it ? damage it and have to buy it !!

 

or scared it would hurt you ? can they hurt us ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw a show a little while back and they were showing the force the Mantis generate with the flick of their front claws. They keep them folded up but when released they said they generate enough energy to break your finger. If I remember right?

Doh, live grouper for sale! These are most often caught using cyanide...:-( Not saying those are - but wanted to point it out for folks who don't know how live fish markets usually get their large fish.

The mantis are extremely cool Eric. They also had mantis meat for sale in Japan. It's in the upper right in this photo:

Already cooked though...:-)

Cheers

James

YOU KNOW - I think I had mantis in Taiwan. We went to a nice Japanese restaurant, and out came this shrimpy looking thing in the nigiri part of the meal. It was purple-ish, and very good.

I was wondering what kind of meat it was. I think I have a photo somewhere -- will have to dig it out.

Mantis shrimp fall into two groups, the smashers & the spearers (I kid you not!). The large claw of the smashers is modified into a heavy club; within a millisecond they can smash a heavy shell, fish, break an aquarium, a finger, or crack a camera lens or dome. Seriously. The large claw of the spearers is modified into a long spine with sharp barbs; they slice & impale their victims, again within a millisecond. You can lose your finger tips to these as they can slash to the bone.

There is a great video of a mantis shrimp capturing a fish on Charles Mazel's fluorescence page. Keep in mind this is a slow mantis! http://nightsea.com/mantis.htm#video

Giles -- that would be the reason I'm afraid of them.

One peacock mantish shrimp(Odontodactylus scyllarus) cracked my lens cos I got too close. The big boy sand mantis can hit like a small caliber gun.

The cantonese call them the pissing shrimp because they urinate when cooked alive (go figure!). I remember the guy in Shenzhen speared one to get them to clear their innards before being cooked (in my ignorant seafood days).

They are my favorite shrimp in the sea... intelligent and killah instincts!

James is correct on the Napoleon Wrasse and Grouper catches. The Togian islands were almost wiped out in many areas due to the hunting of Napoleon Wrasse... for what?... the lips!

Giles -- that would be the reason I'm afraid of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

wow learn somethign new every day ....

... aren't i glad those little guys are way too quick to catch otherwise i owuld have some mashed up fingers.

they look so pretty too

At a live seafood restaurant in Kota Kinabalu they had signs posted about not sticking your fingers in the tanks w/ them... Someone I was with tried mantis, and said it was very good.

They catch them w/ 20oz soda or water bottles w/ a small piece of bait in the bottom. Evidently the shrimp can't turn around in the bottle to get out, and gets trapped.

They catch them w/ 20oz soda or water bottles w/ a small piece of bait in the bottom.  Evidently the shrimp can't turn around in the bottle to get out, and gets trapped.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mantis shrimp are really flexible - the small ones look like worms when they move - so they're not trapped. They like burrows to live in because they like the feeling of being surrounded/protected on all sides and the bottles are just transparent burrows to them.

The fishermen in the Caribbean call them "thumb splitters"...guess they've caught some in some of their nets & found out the hard way what they can do

Spearing mantis shrimp:

Boxing mantis shrimp:

Photos taken at Baracuda, Wakataobi, Indonesia.

B)