The mantis shrimp brandishes bayonet-like spikes, so it is not something you can just grab and take away
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When you see the name "squilla," many people may not be familiar with it, but when it comes topipixia, xiapazi, lainiaoxia, there should be very few people who don't know it. Squilla, along with the lobsters, hairy crabs, prawns and so on that we commonly eat, all belong to the crustaceans. The most common squilla on the market is today's protagonist --Oratosquilla oratoriaOratosquilla oratoria。
The pipixia everyone knows, whose formal name is Oratosquilla oratoria. Image: Serguei S. Dukachev / wikipedia
Besides the above familiar common names, Oratosquilla oratoria also hasmantis shrimp, pipa shrimp, shrimp bulletand many other names, among which "mantis shrimp" is a direct translation from its English name "mantis shrimp." Oratosquilla oratoria is the type species of the genus Oratosquilla in the family Squillidae. The specific epithet oratoria comes from the Latin oris, meaning mouth, while the genus name is composed of orato (mouth) and squilla (shrimp).
The secret life of the pipixia
Although squilla, like the shrimp and crabs we commonly eat, belong to the crustaceans, taxonomically the squilla occupies a suborder all to itself -- the Hoplocarida under the Malacostraca.MalacostracaThe name (Malacostraca) was created by the French zoologist Pierre Andre Latreille in 1802. This name easily leads people to mistakenly think that the species in this class have very soft shells. In fact, their shells are onlysoft for a short time just after molting。
The biggest difference between squilla and shrimp and crabs is that the head and thorax are not completely fused into one. The four pairs of appendages of shrimp and crabs are mainly used for walking, while the squilla has only three pairs of walking legs for walking.
The front5 pairs of maxillipeds (also called thoracic legs) of the squilla have different functions: the first pair of maxillipeds is small and not easily seen from the outside, mainly used for cleaning the body; the second pair of maxillipeds is the largest and most obvious, specialized into raptorial appendages like those of a mantis; the third, fourth and fifth pairs of maxillipeds are also relatively small, mainly used for grasping food.
Five pairs of maxillipeds with different forms. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
Only three pairs of walking legs are used for walking. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
Outside the breeding season, most Oratosquilla oratoria prefer to live alone. However, sometimes several squilla may live together in one burrow, perhaps becausethe housing prices on the seafloor are too high(just kidding). The maximum body length of male Oratosquilla oratoria can reach 18 cm, and females are slightly larger than males, reaching 18.5 cm. In the breeding season, Oratosquilla oratoria like to move in groups, which not only canincrease the probability of finding a mate, but also canincrease the frequency of mating. After mating, the female squilla can soon lay eggs, while the male squilla will leave the female and look for the next mating partner.
When laying eggs, unlike its usual posture of back up and belly down, the female Oratosquilla oratoria willlie on its backin the burrow, with the head and tail slightly raised, and after expelling the eggs, hold them between the 6th and 8th segments of the thorax until the eggs hatch.
The newly hatched Oratosquilla oratoria is very different in form from the adult squilla. It is called a pseudozoea larva and needs to go through 11 stages (one molt of the squilla is called one stage) and about 1 month to become a juvenile shrimp. From birth until the 2nd larval stage, the squilla does not need to hunt, but hides in the burrow and relies on the nutrition of the yolk for survival. Only at the 3rd juvenile stage does it beginto leave the burrow and live a planktonic life. Then at the 11th larval stage it beginsto dig holes and live a burrowing life. The lifespan of Oratosquilla oratoria is generally 1 to 2 years.
A veritable little overlord of the seafloor
Oratosquilla oratoria is a fierce carnivorous marine animal. They are not good at swimming and prefer to live on the seafloor covered with mud and sand,digging holes in the mud and sandand hiding in them, with only the antennae and eyes exposed, waiting for an opportunity to prey on small animals passing by. When food is insufficient, they will also actively leave the burrow to forage.
An Oratosquilla oratoria observing secretly. Image: alchetron.com
Oratosquilla oratoria has a very omnivorous diet. As long as it is something they can eat, they will not let it go,from small fish and shrimp to planktonall are on their menu. The raptorial appendages are their hunting weapons. The teeth and spines on the appendages can pierce the prey's body and kill them, and then the 3rd to 5th pairs of maxillipeds are used to grasp the food and bring it to the mouth. So, itmost of its maxillipeds are all near the mouth, and this is also the origin of the name of the order Stomatopoda.
Oratosquilla oratoria preying on guppies. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
An Oratosquilla oratoria eating. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
By the way, among the stomatopods, the raptorial appendages evolved in 2 major directions:the spearer type（Spearers）and the smasher type(Smashers). Most squilla have spearer-type raptorial appendages like those of Oratosquilla oratoria. This kind of raptorial appendage is most suitable forpreying on faster-moving prey. Some people have also observed that when facing certain shellfish, Oratosquilla oratoria will also attack by flicking with its raptorial appendages, though the capture efficiency at this time is certainly not as good as that of the smasher type. Squilla with smasher-type raptorial appendages all belong to the superfamily Gonodactyloidea. Their raptorial appendage dactyl and propodus become thicker,like two small hammersthat can easily smash shells and can also break the hard shells of crabs.
The mantis-like raptorial appendages of Oratosquilla oratoria. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
Smasher-type raptorial appendages. Image: Zhang Xiaofeng
What is most familiar is still you on the dining table
Oratosquilla oratoria is famous nationwide for its wide distribution range anddelicious taste. Fresh live squilla must bepoached in plain water or steamedto be at its most delicious. Of course,salt and pepper or spicypreparations are also very tasty.
Steamed Oratosquilla oratoria. Image: Curry Cat / Douguo Meishi
Salt and pepper pipixia is also delicious. Image: Moon Jingjing / Douguo Meishi
The most troublesome thing when eating squilla is how to peel out the meat completely without being pricked by the spines on its body. A widely circulated method online is to use scissors to cut off the head, legs and tail of the squilla,insert a chopstick and twist it to remove the meatMy personal habit is: first remove the head, then take off the various legs and the spines on both sides of the tail, and then slowly tear open the shell bit by bit from the opening at the head. As long as the squilla is a fresh individual, you can get a very complete strip of shrimp meat.
Besides this troublesome way of eating, in some coastal areas of the north there is also the custom of crushing squilla meat to makedumpling filling. In addition, Japan even eatssquilla sashimi。
Japanese squilla sashimi and squilla sushi. Image: tabelog.com; Lombroso / wikipedia
Although many vendors claim that the squilla they sell is artificially bred, as far as I know, artificial breeding of Oratosquilla oratoria is still at the experimental stage, so almost all the Oratosquilla oratoria we eat iscaught in the wild.
Fortunately, Oratosquilla oratoria grows quickly and has strong reproductive capacity. The current fishing intensity has not put too much pressure on them. On the contrary, the gradual depletion of fishery resources has reduced the number of some fish that are natural enemies of crustaceans such as squilla, allowing Oratosquilla oratoria to live even more comfortably.Every year from April to Septemberis the breeding season of Oratosquilla oratoria. People can eatplump with roe and meatsquilla almost all year round. Friends who love to eat it must not miss it!
This article is the 253rd article of the 4th year of Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @Zhang Xiaofeng.
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Squillidae, peacock mantis shrimp