'mantis crab' definitions:
Definition of 'mantis crab'
(from WordNet)
noun
Tropical marine burrowing crustaceans with large grasping appendages [syn: mantis shrimp, mantis crab]
Definition of 'mantis crab'
From: GCIDE
- mantis crab \mantis crab\ n. Same as Squilla.
- Syn: Mantis shrimp. [WordNet 1.5]
Definition of 'mantis crab'
From: GCIDE
- Mantis \Man"tis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a prophet.] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of voracious orthopterous insects of the genus Mantis, and allied genera. They are predacious long-bodied large-eyed insects of warm regions, are remarkable for their slender grotesque forms, and for holding their stout anterior legs in a manner suggesting hands folded in prayer. The common American species is Mantis Carolina. [1913 Webster]
- Mantis shrimp. (Zool.) The Squilla, a tropical marine burrowing crustacean with large grasping appendages. Also called mantis crab and mantis prawn. [1913 Webster]