Hemisquilla is a genus of mantis shrimp, and the only genus in the family Hemisquillidae.[1] It contains four species distributed in Australia and the Americas. Species in the genus typically eat snails, fish, rock oysters, and smaller crustaceans like crabs. They are preyed upon by larger bony fishes and cephalopods.[1] It is the most basal living mantis shrimp lineage, and the sister group to all other mantis shrimp.[2]

Hemisquilla
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Stomatopoda
Family: Hemisquillidae
Genus: Hemisquilla
Hansen, 1895
Species

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Species

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Four species are recognized:[3]

Anatomy

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Prey capture in Hemisquilla species is extremely rapid. Contact with the prey is made within 4-10 milliseconds, and the striking limb moves at a linear velocity of around 10 meters per second.[4][5] There are five physiologically different motor units composed of muscle fibers that work together to make this rapid strike possible.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hemisquilla - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. ^ Van Der Wal, Cara; Ahyong, Shane T.; Ho, Simon Y.W.; Lo, Nathan (2017-09-21). "The evolutionary history of Stomatopoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca) inferred from molecular data". PeerJ. 5: e3844. doi:10.7717/peerj.3844. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5610894. PMID 28948111.
  3. ^ Stephenson, William (1967). "A COMPARISON OF AUSTRALASIAN AND AMERICAN SPECIMENS OF HEMISQUILLA ENSIGERA (OWEN, 1832) (CRUSTACEA: STOMATOPODA)" (PDF). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 120 (3564).
  4. ^ Burrows, M. (1969-12-01). "The mechanics and neural control of the prey capture strike in the mantid shrimps Squilla and Hemisquilla". Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie. 62 (4): 361–381. doi:10.1007/BF00299261. ISSN 1432-1351. S2CID 8741172.
  5. ^ Burrows, Malcolm; Hoyle, Graham (March 1972). "Neuromuscular physiology of the strike mechanism of the mantis shrimp,Hemisquilla". Journal of Experimental Zoology. 179 (3): 379–393. doi:10.1002/jez.1401790309. ISSN 0022-104X.
  6. ^ McNeill, Patricia; Burrows, Malcolm; Hoyle, Graham (March 1972). "Fine structure of muscles controlling the strike of the mantis shrimp,Hemisquilla". Journal of Experimental Zoology. 179 (3): 395–415. doi:10.1002/jez.1401790310. ISSN 0022-104X.