Mantis

n.
  1. 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.
    2. Mantis shrimp . (Zoöl.)
    The Squilla, a tropical marine burrowing crustacean with large grasping appendages. Also called mantis crab and mantis prawn.