National Museum of Natural Science

At first glance, a smooth fan lobster looks like a cartoon character that has been squashed. Even so, its carapace is three-dimensional with obvious edges and angles. Smooth fan lobsters live on the sandy seafloor at 30 to 40 meters. Their wide flat body is conducive for drilling into the sand to forage for food or hide from predators.

They are also commonly sold in fish markets. Because their body is wide and flat and their carapace has hard sharp teeth along the edges, when they struggle, they create a hardship for fishermen, which is why fishermen compare them to mantis shrimp.

Ibacus novemdentatus