Gonodactylus smithii | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Crustacea |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Stomatopoda |
Family: | Gonodactylidae |
Genus: | Gonodactylus |
Species: | G. smithii |
Binomial name | |
Gonodactylus smithii Pocock, 1893 |
Gonodactylus smithii, the purple spot mantis shrimp, is a species of mantis shrimp of the smasher type. It is found from New Caledonia to the western part of the Indian Ocean, including Australia's north coast and the Great Barrier Reef.
It is the only organism known to simultaneously detect the four linear and two circular polarization components required for Stokes parameters, which yield a full description of polarization. It is thus believed to have optimal polarization vision.
The specific epithet smithii is in commemoration of Sir Percy William Bassett-Smith.