---
title: "Peacock Mantis Shrimp"
description: "Odontodactylus scyllarus — Other animals. Odontodactylus scyllarus, commonly known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, clown mantis shrimp, rainbow mantis shrimp, peacock odontodactyl, thumb splitter, or simply mantis shrimp, is a large odontodactylid stomatopod native to the epipelagic seabed across the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Marianas to East Africa, and as far South as Northern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/peacock-mantis-shrimp
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Peacock Mantis Shrimp

> Odontodactylus scyllarus — Other animals. Odontodactylus scyllarus, commonly known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, clown mantis shrimp, rainbow mantis shrimp, peacock odontodactyl,  thumb splitter, or simply mantis shrimp, is a large odontodactylid stomatopod native to the epipelagic seabed across the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Marianas to East Africa, and as far South as Northern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.

- Scientific name: *Odontodactylus scyllarus*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2357
- Wikidata: [Q43735](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q43735)
- iNaturalist taxon: [119395](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/119395)

## Names

- en: Peacock Mantis Shrimp
- de: Clown-Fangschreckenkrebs
- es: Camarón Mantis Arlequín
- fr: Mante de mer paon
- pl: Rawka błazen

## Countries with the most observations

ID (1039), PH (448), AU (70), TW (62), MY (57), TZ (51), MV (46), TH (29), JP (27), KE (25), ZA (24), FJ (23)

## Summary

Odontodactylus scyllarus, commonly known as the peacock mantis shrimp, harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp, clown mantis shrimp, rainbow mantis shrimp, peacock odontodactyl,  thumb splitter, or simply mantis shrimp, is a large odontodactylid stomatopod native to the epipelagic seabed across the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Marianas to East Africa, and as far South as Northern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. It is one of roughly 480 species of mantis shrimp, which are well known for their raptorial claws, exceptional vision, and their unique way of interacting with other marine species.
In the marine aquarium…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontodactylus_scyllarus

## Photo

![Peacock Mantis Shrimp](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/peacock-mantis-shrimp/medium.jpg)

Photo: laiet17 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/395270277

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/peacock-mantis-shrimp?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).