Those roving eyes
are looking for the next
deadly fight.
Meet the strongest fistfighter on the planet,
the mantis shrimp.
With a force of 73 kg (160 lb),
this lethal crustacean’s punch
can rip human fingers
to the bone.
But it is not the only killer on the reef.
Its close cousin and similarly
violent crustacean,
the pistol shrimp,
fires its bubble gun and makes
a sound so loud
it can kill small marine animals.
So if it came to a deciding match
between these murderous cousins,
who would win?
"I honestly don't know."
Are you on the edge of your seat yet?
Here’s a blow-by-blow account
of this rumble in the reef.
"Let them fight."
The mantis shrimp is equipped
with a club-like front leg
that can deliver punches at speeds of
23 m (75 ft) per second.
That’s as fast as a 0.22 caliber bullet
slicing through the air.
The punch is so powerful
it can smash open mollusk and crab shells
and dismember the shellfish.
The shock wave accompanying this deathly punch
doubles its impact
and makes the surrounding water as hot
as the Sun.
The pistol shrimp brings a gun
bigger than its body to this fistfight.
The pincers on the pistol shrimp’s gun claw
rip through the water at 100 km/h (62 mph),
and they fit into each other like a garlic press.
This produces a superheated water-jet
that makes the surrounding water four times hotter
than molten lava.
But that’s not what kills the pistol shrimp’s prey.
The water-jet carries a bubble that bursts
and creates a noise that is so loud
it can stun or kill other creatures.
During World War 2, trigger-happy colonies
of pistol shrimps were loud enough to mess up
the U.S. Navy’s interpretation
of sonar signals.
Light sound and fury to match.
But who’s got the size advantage?
The pistol shrimp ranges from 3 to 5 cm (1-2 in) long
and weighs about 25 g (0.9 oz).
But at 18 cm (7 in) long,
mantis shrimps are among the larger
shrimp varieties.
They weigh 0.6 kg (1 lb 5 oz).
That’s as much as a basketball.
So the mantis shrimp would have a clear size advantage
over the puny pistol shrimp,
like a heavyweight boxer taking on a flyweight.
But the pistol shrimp has a clever accomplice
who helps it aim and
add years to its life.
The goby fish makes its home in holes
that the pistol shrimp
blasts into rocks.
In return,
the fish warns the shrimp of approaching dangers.
On the other hand, the mantis shrimp
is a territorial loner
that could be easy for the pistol shrimp-goby tag team
to gang up on.
Unless they do battle with a spearer
and a smasher mantis.
You heard that right. There are two kinds of mantis shrimps.
The smashers wield the power punches.
The spearers nag and stab with sharp,
barbed tips on their front legs.
Stabbing is about four times slower than punching,
but all that weaponry could be a bit too much
for the agile goby fish
and its pistol-swinging friend.
The reason why the pistol shrimp needs a friendly fish
as a lookout
reveals another fatal drawback.
This crazy critter
is shooting blind.
The pistol shrimp needs to stay in physical contact
with the goby so the fish can guide it.
And though their team coordination
must be pretty impressive,
they would be in trouble
when facing the mantis shrimp’s
infrared vision.
The mantis shrimp has two protruding eyes
that operate independently of each other.
They enjoy a broad field of vision
with excellent depth perception,
and they see many more colors than we do.
They can even see some kinds of cancer cells.
And as if this super trooper needs another advantage,
the mantis shrimp has a unique armor.
Coils of chitin fiber on its shell
act as shock absorbers
and protect it from sudden impacts.
So while our gun-toting little pistol shrimp
could put up a fierce fight,
it’s likely no match for the mantis shrimp’s size,
armor and incredible vision.
It’s a good thing that mantis and pistol shrimps
are not known to acknowledge,
let alone pick fights, with each other.
But how does this palm-sized mantis shrimp
power its knockout punches?
We've got the answer in another episode of
Crazy Creatures.
Firing superheated jets of water
and launching finger-splitting punches
is what these shrimps do.
And that’s why they’re Crazy Creatures.