Fire-Crested Mantis Shrimp

''"Ohhhh god." - Wong Zhong Sun, on first discovering the fire-crested mantis shrimp.''

The fire-crested mantis shrimp (terror igni) has a series of crimson, coral-like crests arising from its back. It can punch with the power of a 30-calibre bullet traveling at 557.01 km/h and they do not die of old age or stop growing.

The fire-crested mantis shrimp is believed to be a major ingredient in historical accounts of Greek Fire.

Physical Description
The fire-crested mantis shrimp has arch-like segments that are exceedingly strong. They have powerful punches that can turn water in front of them to steam, crushing its target with the weight of the ocean as it fills the cavity created. Their blood is very hot, owing to powerful chemicals, and is extremely efficient in carrying oxygen. The blood also kills all known parasites. They never stop growing, but grow more slowly as they age.

Evolution and Related Species
The fire-crested mantis shrimp is a crustacean. It is an offshoot of the mantis shrimp and is closely related to the imperial mantis shrimp and the sub-sub family of flaunting mantis shrimps. This sub-sub family is divided into many sub-sub-sub species like, the Mediterranean mantis shrimp, the South Atlantic mantis shrimp, the Indian mantis shrimp, the Congolese mantis shrimp, the South-East Asian mantis shrimp, the oriental mantis shrimp, and the Pacific mantis shrimp. It is also distantly related to the golden mantis shrimp and the dreadnaught prawn.

Behaviour and Characteristics
The fire-crested mantis shrimp is extremely territorial and kills any member of the same species and sex that it meets. This means that only two members of the same species occupy a piece of territory. However, larvae are highly communal and travel in large schools.

Fire-crested mantis shrimps are biologically immortal. They hunt anything they can get their claws on.

Life Cycle

 * As eggs, they are very, very small and jellylike.
 * As larvae, they are microscopic but have complex bodies and no shell.
 * As shrimplings, they develop their shell but not their punching power.
 * As juveniles, they develop their punching power.
 * They are sexually mature as adults.
 * A few of them have reached giant size (rowboat-sized and larger)

Culinary Uses
They are very tasty if you don't value your life. The flesh is toxic, the blood over-oxygenates your body, corroding it, and besides, you'd be punched to death before you had a chance.

As Pets
Anyone who manages to tame one immediately qualifies as cool.

Status
The Fire-Crested Mantis Shrimp has been consistently given ratings of 5 stars from animal critics (some of whom only used 4-star rating systems.) It has been called "an evolutionary masterpiece," "the grandmaster of all animals," and "the crustacean version of bacon."