It takes two to tango!

 Squilla mantis life cycle consists of egg stage, free swimming state, larval stage, and then cycles to adulthood.  The larval stage are still voracious like its adult stage. Once it reaches adult hood it is very solitary. It doesn’t associate with other organisms unless it is for good eats purposes or the other sex unless it is to reproduce. The male mantis shrimp and the female has to find one another then mate. Some (male or female) many travel a great distance to find a partner or it may be next burrow over. A unique courtship might be applied to pick out the right mate. The process of reproduction of Squilla mantis falls under gametogenesis (formation of a zygote (2n) by joining of two Haploid (1n) cells). Once they have found each other the mantis shrimps  would have to touch bellies and the sperm from the male would be released to be stored in the seminal receptacles of the female. The eggs are then released, fertilized, and brought back to the burrow. The life span of these organisms is about three years.

                

                                                                                     

The picture to the right is the early larval stage of Squilla mantis. The picture to the right is a maturing to the adult stage

"Fastest Claws of the West" Part III. In the beginning of this video, it talks bout the reproduction of mantis shrimps. Also it contains other interesting facts!

 Interactions of Squilla mantis!