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Pistol Shrimp A.K.A The Killer!

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One night I felt like cooking some shrimps for dinner, so I went to YouTube to get new ideas, Have got no clue how but that when I saw that little guy crawling around minding his business when out of nowhere the shrimp aimed his claw at a fish, then I heard his claw been cocked exactly like a gun and boom he fired at another fish and killed it!!! Now I was mind blown completely, so I decided to actually look into it and share it with everyone!

So, here is what I managed to get from here and there:

“Alpheidae is a family of caridean snapping shrimp characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically capable of producing a loud snapping sound. Other common names of these species include pistol shrimp or alpheid shrimp.

The snapping shrimp grows to only 1–2 inches (3–5 cm) long. It is distinctive for its remarkably disproportionate large claw, larger by half than the entire body. The claw can be on either arm of the body, and unlike most shrimp claws does not have pincers at the end. Rather, it has a pistol-like feature made of two parts. A joint allows the “hammer” part to move backward into a right-angled position. When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, emitting an enormously powerful wave of bubbles capable of stunning larger fish and breaking small glass jars.

The snapping shrimp competes with much larger animals like the Sperm Whale and Beluga Whale for the title of ‘loudest animal in the sea’. The animal snaps a specialized claw shut to create a cavitation bubble (As it collapses, the cavitation bubble reaches temperatures of over 5,000 K (4,700 °C). In comparison, the surface temperature of the sun is estimated to be around 5,800 K (5,500 °C)) that generates acoustic pressures of up to 80 kPa at a distance of 4 cm from the claw. As it extends out from the claw, the bubble reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and releases a sound reaching 218 decibels. The pressure is strong enough to kill small fish.”

Now, if you still can’t picture all of this just check how awesome the clip is!

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