Cyclicity
A female mantis shrimp broods up to 50,000 eggs in her burrow (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). These then hatch into pelagic stages. The hatching stage is a zoea and planktonic larval life may last for three months (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). However, larvae of gonodactylids spend less time in this pelagic stage than other taxa (Reaka 1980). Planktonic development time may be longer in large than small species (Reaka 1980).
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