Mantis shrimp out of his burrow

I got lucky and happened to catch the mantis shrimp out of his burrow. This photo gives you a little bit better idea of what he looks like. Check out the royal blue legs, no tights necessary!

He’s definitely not shy about checking me out either, but with his “hammer arm,” I guess he doesn’t worry too much about wimpy, fleshy humans like me. Also, he probably figured out that he’s well protected behind glass.

One of the docents at Cabrillo Aquarium explained that the mantis shrimp tank has specially made glass to prevent him from taking a well-placed whack with his tail and breaking it. Apparently, this actually happened at another aquarium. That is one strong tail!

When the stars align and I get really lucky, I will get a photo of the tail, it’s incredible. (And in case you were wondering, there is only one mantis shrimp in the photo, the other is his reflection in the glass.)