# Camarón mantis (Odontodactylus scyllarus), Anilao, Filipinas, 2023-08-24, DD 164

- By: Diego Delso
- Date: 2023-08-24
- Classification: Photograph
- Museum: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camar%C3%B3n_mantis_(Odontodactylus_scyllarus),_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-24,_DD_164.jpg)
- Rights: [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/commons/thumb/6/63/Camar%C3%B3n_mantis_%28Odontodactylus_scyllarus%29%2C_Anilao%2C_Filipinas%2C_2023-08-24%2C_DD_164.jpg/1920px-Camar%C3%B3n_mantis_%28Odontodactylus_scyllarus%29%2C_Anilao%2C_Filipinas%2C_2023-08-24%2C_DD_164.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This species ranges in size from 3–18 centimetres (1.2–7.1 in) and is a burrower, constructing U-shaped holes in the loose substrate near the bases of coral reefs in water ranging from 3–40 metres (9.8–131.2 ft). It's a smasher, with club-shaped raptorial appendages. An agile and active intertidal and sub-intertidal predator, it prefers gastropods, crustaceans, and bivalves, and will repeatedly deliver blunt force to the exoskeleton of its prey until it can gain access to the underlying soft tissue for consumption. It is reported to have a "punch" of over 80 km/h (50 miles/h), the fastest recorded punch of any living animal. The acceleration is similar to that in a .22 LR bullet fired from a handgun.