Squilla mantis

Squilla mantis is a stomatopod crustacean native to the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It shelters in seabed burrows and is harvested as seafood.

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Stomatopoda: An order of marine crustaceans known as mantis shrimps, with specialized grasping appendages and complex vision. Squilla mantis belongs to this order of predatory crustaceans.
Mediterranean fisheries: Commercial and small-scale fishing activities operating across the Mediterranean Sea. Squilla mantis is a locally important catch in parts of this region.
Squilla: A genus of burrowing mantis shrimps found in marine environments. Squilla mantis is the genus's type species.
Odontodactylus scyllarus: A tropical mantis shrimp known for its powerful impact appendages and vivid coloration. Unlike this Mediterranean species, it is a tropical reef-dweller famous for striking prey.
Squillidae: A family of mantis shrimps that includes many burrowing species. This family contains Squilla mantis and closely related species.
Bycatch: Animals unintentionally caught while fishing for other species. The species can be caught in bottom-trawl fisheries targeting other seafood.
Mediterranean Sea: A sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar and bordered by Europe, Africa, and Asia. This sea contains much of the species' range and fishery.
Lysiosquillina maculata: A large tropical mantis shrimp that lives in burrows and captures prey with spear-like appendages. It shares a burrowing lifestyle but belongs to a different mantis-shrimp lineage.
Mantis shrimp: A marine crustacean in the order Stomatopoda, named for its powerful, folded raptorial appendages. The common name places this species within the broader stomatopod group.
Bottom trawling: A fishing method that drags a net along the seabed to catch demersal animals. This method is commonly associated with catches of seabed-dwelling mantis shrimps.