D. acanthocercus D. pattoni Daidal (named after a spirit in Takelma mythology) is an extinct genus of mantis shrimp that lived during the Carboniferous period.

The genus has been proposed to be polyphyletic, with D. pattoni possibly being an earlier diverging lineage, though more specimens and research are needed to confirm this.

In 1908, Ben Peach studied several crustacean fossils from the Carboniferous deposits in Scotland, and erected the species Perimecturus pattoni based on a single specimen (G 1887.25.1059) collected from the Top Hosie Limestone of the Lower Limestone Formation near East Kilbride, believing it belonged in the genus Perimecturus.

[7] Daidal is an invertebrate of moderate size, with the type species D. acanthocercus reaching a body length of 20–80 mm (0.79–3.15 in).

[4][7] The second to fifth thorax segments each possess a pair of maxillipeds (appendages which function as mouthparts), which are similar in shape and size.

[7] Smith et al. (2023) conducted a phylogenetic analysis to determine the relations between fossil mantis shrimps, which recovered the genus Daidal to be polyphyletic.

Archaeocaris vermiformis Archaeocaris graffhami †Bairdops elegans Perimecturus parki Perimecturus rapax †Bairdops beargulchensis †Daidal pattoni †Daidal schoellmanni †Daidal acanthocercus Gorgonophontes fraiponti Gorgonophontes peleron †Chabardella spinosa †Tyrannophontes theridion †Tyrannophontes gigantion †Triassosculda ahyongi †Tyrannosculda laurae †Pseudosculda laevis †Archaeosculda phoenicia †Sculda pennata †Sculda syriaca †Ursquilla yehoachi †Lysiosquilla nkporoensis †Nodosculda fisherorum Squilla mantis

[9] However, Daidal probably lacked this mechanism, instead having raptorial appendages that more closely resemble the smaller, third to fifth thoracopods of unipeltatans used to manipulate prey after capture.

It has thus been suggested by Jenner et al. (1998) that basal stomatopods like Daidal were opportunistic scavengers which primarily handled dead food.

This was supported by the appendage morphology in Tyrannosculda, Tyrannophontes and Gorgonophontes, showing these early forms could not attack prey from the seabed.

[10] This method of hunting is also observed in the larvae of extant mantis shrimps, and studying them may help increase our understanding of early stomatopod ecology.