![]() Analysis and computer modeling of light across those cells revealed an entirely new way of reflecting light. Under a high-powered microscope, the shrimp’s blue spots became fields of thin, reflective cells. Each maxilliped sports a spot of brilliant blue, like the wing of a morpho butterfly. trispinosa do their light-bouncing via little feathery appendages called maxillipeds. To find out just how the shrimp do it, scientists collected Haptosquilla trispinosa specimens off the coast of Australia and brought them back to the lab. Other animals can’t, which makes it an ideal way to communicate without attracting attention. Mantis shrimp can see-and manipulate-polarized light. It’s these magnificent peepers that make shrimp code possible. And while our eyeballs have just three color receptors, theirs have 16, allowing them to see colors and images accessible to no other animal on earth. They look like Happy Meal toys but kill like assassins. ![]() If you’re new to Mantis Shrimp Club, you’re in for a treat. The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists have learned that mantis shrimp bounce polarized light off their bodies to communicate in super-secret shrimp code. Just when you thought mantis shrimp could not get any more awesome, they did.
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