Meet the marine creature that snaps like a gun: How the pistol shrimp shoots bubbles at nearly the speed of sound, creating shockwaves as hot as the Sun

“The sounds produced when the pistols of these shrimps are fired are among the loudest sounds that can be heard in the oceans,” notes the magazine. In fact, these tiny creatures “compete with larger sperm whales and beluga whales for the title of the loudest animal in the oceans.” The sound reaches an incredible 218 decibels — louder than a gunshot, typically around 140-175 decibels.

The pistol shrimp primarily uses this powerful weapon to catch prey. When hunting, it hides in its burrow, waiting for prey to come within range before firing its claw with remarkable speed and precision.

Anatomy of a pistol shrimp

What makes this remarkable feat possible? The pistol shrimp’s specialised anatomy is a natural weapon of surprising sophistication.

According to Fountain Magazine, “The pistol shrimp has two claws, one larger than the other. The larger claw, which is as large as half of the shrimp’s body, is the pistol.” This asymmetrical design is crucial to its function. Unlike typical shrimp claws with symmetrical pincers, the pistol claw has “two parts, one fixed (propus), the other moving (dactyl). The dactyl has a plunger which helps with the shrimp’s move.”

 

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When the shrimp snaps this specialised claw shut, it does so with such tremendous speed and force that it creates a cavitation bubble—a phenomenon where rapid changes in pressure create a void in the water that quickly collapses upon itself. This collapse generates the deafening sound and intense heat that make the pistol shrimp so remarkable.

The remarkable speed 

The timeframe in which this remarkable process occurs is almost incomprehensibly brief. Viterbi Magazine notes that “the whole process, from the snapping of the claw to the popping of the bubble, occurs within 15 microseconds. That’s 15 millionths of a second.”

In this infinitesimal moment, temperatures briefly reach solar levels. As Alexander Ramirez, a biomedical engineering major, explains: “The temperatures get to that of the sun. Imagine what can happen if we can harness that power given off by tons of energy in just microseconds.”

During this rapid process, the bubble creates sound and heat and emits light as it implodes. However, as Fountain Magazine explains, “the flashing of light is so sudden that the resulting light is not visible to the naked eye.”

Use beyond hunting

While its powerful claw is primarily a hunting tool, the pistol shrimp employs this natural weapon for various other purposes.

“Besides hunting their prey, pistol shrimps may also use their sonic pistols to dig burrows into rocks,” reports Fountain Magazine. “The impact from the firing up of their pistols is so powerful that they can dig proper burrows into hard basalt stones.”

In a behaviour reminiscent of Wild West shootouts, these shrimps also “fire their pistols against each other at a close range to assert dominance”. During these duels, they may lose their claws, but remarkably, “lost claws are re-grown.”