The Lysiosquillidae or banded mantis shrimps are a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known. All li ...
, comprising some of the largest known mantis shrimp species.
The most common and best known species is ''
Lysiosquillina maculata'', the zebra mantis shrimp.
Natural history
Like all mantis shrimps, banded mantis shrimps dig burrows in the sea floor.
Banded mantis shrimp burrows are relatively deep, descending vertically into soft
substrate
Substrate may refer to:
Physical layers
*Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached
** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...
.
Unlike other clades, however, they rarely leave their burrows, preferring to ambush their prey from the safety of their homes.
Genera
* ''
Lysiosquilla''
Dana, 1852
* ''
Lysiosquillina''
Manning, 1995
* ''
Lysiosquilloides''
Manning, 1977
Interactions with humans
If banded mantis shrimp leave their burrows, they may be at risk to be caught by
artisnal fishers,
trawls, or night lights.
References
Stomatopoda
Malacostraca families
{{Stomatopod-stub