Mantis shrimp strike at sixty miles per hour using stored elastic recoil.

Evidence

Mantis shrimp hurl their legs with incredible speed during these blows, which is nontrivial considering they are underwater. Sheila Patek and Roy Caldwell, studying the mechanics of the predatory strike of the peacock mantis shrimp, found that they accomplish this feat using a “click” mechanism in which a rigid latch locks the limb into a spring-loaded and cocked position. When this lock is released, the weapon snaps forward using elastic recoil from energy stored in the bending of the skeleton, exactly like releasing the recoil stored in a fully drawn archer’s bow. Once released, their legs blaze through the water at strike speeds of up to sixty miles per hour which, when scaled down to the size of these “shrimp,” means that the entire strike takes just two one-thousandths of a second. These little predators are contenders for the fastest weapon strikers in the animal kingdom. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 119 (#expands, via linked claim)

The limbs of mantis shrimp (and the related “pistol” shrimp) sweep through the water so fast they create explosive vacuums in their wake. The gaps they leave behind them as they move pull dissolved gasses out of the water into cavitation bubbles. These bubbles release additional energy with a crack when they collapse. This audible pop is both loud and deadly—a noise topping 220 decibels and a flash with temperatures approaching that of the sun (8,500°F). Although the flashes from these cavitation bombs are too small to see, the shock waves they generate can stun nearby fish. The combined impact of an incredibly swift strike, followed by the explosive release of energy from collapsing cavitation bubbles, can crush the exoskeletons or shells of prey instantly. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 120 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Mantis shrimp use a latch-and-spring click mechanism to strike at extreme speed underwater — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 119; Cavitation bubbles amplify mantis shrimp strikes into deadly shock waves — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 120

Related

• Mantis shrimp use a latch-and-spring click mechanism to strike at extreme speed underwater (similarity 0.96)
• Cavitation bubbles amplify mantis shrimp strikes into deadly shock waves (similarity 0.90)

Broader Connections

• Mantis shrimp use a latch-and-spring click mechanism to strike at extreme speed underwater #expands (0.90) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 119
• Cavitation bubbles amplify mantis shrimp strikes into deadly shock waves #expands (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 120