Campos, E. O., Vilhena, D., & Caldwell, R. L. (2012). Pleopod rowing is used to achieve high forward swimming speeds during the escape response of Odontodactylus havanensis (Stomatopoda). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 32(2), 171-179.

The ability to destroy their prey's defenses isn't the only thing that makes mantis shrimp effective hunters. They are also good swimmers; they can quickly chase down their target and promptly escape to safety when threatened. However, the species Odontodactylus havanensis is notable for swimming forwards instead of backwards as other elongate crustaceans do; usually, this indicates a slower swim, but O. havanensis whizzes by quite easily. What makes their forward swimming more effective compared to other crustaceans?

Elongate crustaceans often utilize a backward, tail-flipping method of swimming when escape is required; use of the pleopods for forward swimming is also common, albeit for a slower, more leisurely pace.

Campos et al. individually housed several O. havanensis, each with their own burrow. An escape reaction was prompted by striking the side of the aquarium; the response was captured on video. Results showed that the tail flip was still present, albeit only to help orient the shrimp as it turned to swim in the other direction. Video footage showed that the primary appendages used for the rapid forward swim were indeed the pleopods.

The method by which O. havanensis used their pleopods made it clear how they were able to achieve such high speeds. Instead of beating their pleopods in unison, they beat one pair after the other, thus achieving several smaller propelling power strokes instead of one big slower paddle-like movement. This enabled them to dart to safety much faster than any other elongate crustacean observed so far.

(248 words)

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(posted Dec. 24 2015)