Mantis shrimp are famous for their ultrafast, powerful punches used to dispatch prey. They can land volley after shell-splintering volley, without major injury to their own nerves or flesh.
That’s because the exoskeleton of their club-like forelimbs is built to filter out the most damaging pressure waves caused by a strike, researchers report in the Feb. 7 Science.
Though small enough to fit in your hand, peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) strike so fast that they create imploding bubbles. The impact and implosions work in concert to inflict forces that can exceed 1,000 times the mantis shrimp’s body weight. Yet, the predators unleash this power repeatedly without injuring themselves or