18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Ten Thousand Eyes

The peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus),is known for its colourful body of green and orange. One of the most remarkable features of the mantis shrimp is the structure of its eyes, which is compounded by up to ten thousand clusters of photoreceptor cells. The mantis shrimp can perceive wavelengths of light from ultraviolet and to infrared and polarized light. It is impossible to image what the worldview of the mantis shrimp is, but the mantis shrimp must think that ours is downright boring.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Anilao, Philippines
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Copyright: © Mok Wai Hoe