The Pistol Shrimp!
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 competes with much larger animals, like the sperm whale and beluga whale, for the title of 'loudest animal in the sea'. The shrimp snaps a specialized claw shut to create a cavitation wave that generates acoustic pressures of up to 80 kPa at a distance of 4 cm from the claw. The pressure wave is strong enough to kill small fish. It corresponds to a zero to peak pressure level of 218 decibels relative to one micropascal (dB re 1 μPa), equivalent to a zero to peak source level of 190 dB re 1 μPa at the standard reference distance of 1 m. Au and Banks measured peak to peak source levels between 185 and 190 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m, depending on the size of the claw. Similar values are reported by Ferguson and Cleary. The duration of the click is less than 1 millisecond.
The snap can also produce sonoluminescence from a collapsing bubble, also known as a cavitation bubble. As it collapses, the cavitation bubble reaches the surface temperature of the Sun. The light is of lower intensity than the light produced by typical sonoluminescence and is not visible to the naked eye. It is most likely a by-product of the shock wave with no biological significance. However, it is the first known instance of an animal producing light by this effect.
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That is the coolest natural method of attack I have ever seen.![]()
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