
Caviar!
Peacock Mantis Shrimp - Odontodactylus scyllarus is fairly commonly seen in the Philippines or at least in Anilao.
They are quite colourful especially the tail part, which gives them their common name - Peacock.
For a fairly commonly seen shrimp, what makes this encounter more special is to see them brooding their eggs. They carry a big bunch of eggs under the head all the way down to under the abdomen, pinkish in colour, looking like bunches of grapes. When the eggs are more developed, it is possible to see tiny black dots of the eyes of the embryos. The eggs this one is carrying is still new as only a spot of white is seen in the eggs.

''Odontodactylus scyllarus'', known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, or clown mantis shrimp, is a large mantis shrimp native to the Indo-Pacific from Guam to East Africa.
In the saltwater aquarium trade, it is both prized for its attractiveness and considered by others to be a dangerous pest.
comments (2)
The Larvae will be eventually released to the water column and the survival rates is very low.
Posted 8 years ago