Help ID this creature please
Hi Mr. Bug Man,
We were out baoting on the Halifax River in Central Fl (brachish water very near the shore) (its actually more salt than freshwater) and found this prehistoric looking bug that looks like a cross between a crawfish and a lobster with no pinchers. It had a long body with the legs of a centipede. Its head is arrowhead shaped with the eyes and short antennaes like a shrimp. Its body measures about 4 inches long anf the tail is more rounded. There are also five pointy stinger like appendages that are on the tip of his tail and there are also one on each back leg (2). It also curls up like a roly-poly. Below are some pictures for you to review. Please get back to us as soon as you can.
This looks to us like a Mantis Shrimp. It is neither mantis nor shrimp, but a Crustacean in the order Stomatopoda. You can read about them on Wikipedia.