By now, you've all likely seen the illustrations and videos circulating around the internet boasting the amazing attributes of the Mantis Shrimp. You've seen videos of these seemingly otherworldly creatures beating the life out of helpless crustaceans with club-like appendages that travel at speeds comparable to a .22 caliber bullet, not to mention, marveled at their beautiful color patterns - especially the peacock.
By no means do I intend on diminishing the awesomeness of the Mantis Shrimp. In fact, I have a pet Mantis Shrimp named punchy who, over the recent weeks, has developed an insatiable taste for turbo snails. The Mantis is indeed an amazing animal. However, a distant cousin is being far overlooked.
Enter, the Pistol Shrimp.
By no means do I intend on diminishing the awesomeness of the Mantis Shrimp. In fact, I have a pet Mantis Shrimp named punchy who, over the recent weeks, has developed an insatiable taste for turbo snails. The Mantis is indeed an amazing animal. However, a distant cousin is being far overlooked.
Enter, the Pistol Shrimp.
The Pistol Shrimp looks significantly more like a typical shrimp, but it carries in its predatory arsenal a weapon of such unbelievably badassery that few predators even bother with it. In fact, in the few instances where a Pistol has been put in the same tank as a Mantis , the Pistol has conquered with ease, thanks to its massive claw.
The singular gigantic claw which the Pistol Shrimp sports like a Long Island clubber wearing nothing but tank tops after a serious lifting session, is much more than a typical claw. In fact, it operates far more like a firearm than a claw.
When potential prey approaches the Pistol Shrimp's vicinity, the wily shrimp cocks back the mobile part of its claw like the hammer of a pistol, hence the name. When the prey gets close enough, the claw is released with such force and ferocity that the collision emits a bang of close to 220 decibels. For reference, a shotgun produces 170 db.
Due to the impressive speed and force produced by the snap of the claw, a cavitation bubble is formed. Now, the Mantis Shrimp also produces a cavitation bubble when it attacks its prey, but it pales in comparison to that produced by the Pistol Shrimp, which collapses upon itself at near sun-like temperatures in excess of 4,700 degrees C. The sun burns at approximately 5,500. This cavitation bubble sends shock-waves through the water, stunning its prey. After that, it's lights out for fishy.
Given that as of just a few years ago, we had explored only about 5% of the ocean's floor, as expeditions continue we will likely find far more interesting and obscenely-weaponized creatures which, if anything, will reinforce our gratitude to the forces of evolution that we ended up as land-dwellers.
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