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Stomatopoda
Mantis Shrimps, Stomatopods
Stomatopoda is an order of marine malacostracan crustaceans comprising approximately 450 extant species. Commonly known as mantis shrimps due to their raptorial appendages resembling those of praying mantises, they represent one of the oldest crustacean lineages, having diverged from other malacostracans around 400 million years ago. The order is divided into two functional groups based on raptorial appendage morphology: "smashers" that deliver powerful blunt strikes and "spearers" that impale soft-bodied prey. Stomatopods inhabit tropical to temperate marine waters globally, with greatest diversity in tropical and subtropical regions.