This little creature sees colors the human eye will never perceive

The human eye perceives color using just three types of light-sensitive cones — the brain reconstructs the entire palette of colors we see every day from those three signals alone.

Mantis shrimp have up to a dozen or more different types of color receptors in their eyes, including ones sensitive to ultraviolet and polarized light — completely invisible to the human eye.

Surprisingly, all those extra receptors don't actually make mantis shrimp better at distinguishing colors in comparison tests — recent research suggests their brains process color in a completely different way, likely recognizing patterns faster at the cost of fine-grained hue discrimination.

These same animals are also known for one of the fastest, most powerful strikes in the animal kingdom — their claws snap forward at bullet-like speed, generating a flash of light and a shockwave in the water.