Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. At first glance, the mantis shrimp is an unassuming ...

A tiny mantis performed 'martial arts' to challenge a digger to a fight on a construction site in China. The mantis was ...

When you think about fearsome predators in the ocean, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably a shark. Sure, sharks are OK, with their sleek, menacing shape and their gaping jaws with ...

"Beautiful" and "deadly" are two descriptors you don’t typically see attached to shrimp. But the mantis shrimp is in a class of its own. This colorful specimen has earned a reputation for being one of ...

Original artwork of a mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) (Linnaeus, 1758.) Plate is by artist Phan Hay in Manning, R.B., 1995, "Stomatopod Crustacea of Vietnam." (Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s ...

The mantis shrimp is one of evolution's greatest hits—literally. This pugnacious crustacean (not technically a shrimp) cocks back its hammer-limbs and smashes prey with such ferocity, a shockwave ...

One species of praying mantis has evolved a disguise so convincing that pollinators actively seek it out, turning their own instincts against them. The secret lies in a form of camouflage unlike ...

Female praying mantises have a reputation as ruthless killers who decapitate their mates without hesitation, but the reality ...