Today I would like to introduce you to a shrimp with a pistol.
Pistol shrimp
Body length: 5cm
Phylum: Arthropod phylum
Subphylum: Crustacean subphylum
Class: Soft-nailed order
Aliases: Gaba shrimp, kada shrimp, gun shrimp, band shrimp, dog shrimp, splint shrimp, gazing shrimp, symbiotic shrimp
Appearance characteristics
It is mud-green in color and has a pair of large and small claws, which are about 5 cm long, but the giant claws are 2.5 cm long. The back of the body is brown or marginal brown. The tip of the frontal horn is thin and long, extending about to the end of the first section of the first frontal horn stalk. The posterior frontal horn ridge is not pronounced. The large claws are long, 4 times longer than the width. The palm length is about 2 times the length of the fingers, the inner and outer edges of the palms have a very deep gap behind the base of the movable fingers, and the outer edges have a short spine on the dorsal ventral surface. The small claws are slender, equal to or greater in length than the large claws, and the outer edge of the palm is near the base of the movable finger, and there is also a spine on the dorsal ventral surface at the base. There is no longitudinal groove on the back of the caudal segment, but there are two pairs of stronger movable spines.
Habits of life
They live in shallow areas of tropical oceans, and when hunting, they will quickly close the giant claws, emitting strong shock waves, stunting or even killing prey such as small fish and crabs.
food
Pistol shrimp rely on the violent closure of the shrimp claws, creating a shock wave, while creating bubbles, the energy of the shock wave is enough to stun or kill the small fish and crabs in front of the shrimp claws.
Studies [1] show that when the drum shrimp quickly closes the pliers, a high-speed stream of water at a speed of 112 kilometers per hour is generated. This current causes the water pressure to drop sharply in a short period of time, forming blisters in an instant. The diameter of the blister will reach about 4 mm, and as the pressure returns to normal, the blister will burst immediately, and the sound is made when the blister ruptures, not the sound of the shrimp claw hitting, and the whole process takes about 600 milliseconds. In the ocean, whether it is scientific research or military applications of sonar, the main interference comes from this pistol shrimp.
Pistol Shrimp's excellent self-defense has enabled itself to survive in the underwater world of the weak and the strong. Its unique appearance is also quite popular with the people.