Mantis Shrimp Smash!

January 2, 2013

The mantis shrimp packs a powerful punch. The crustacean uses its hammer like claws to smash through mollusk shells and even aquarium glass without getting injured.

Now, a new study reveals what makes its claws so tough: a unique composition and structure that stops cracks in their tracks—one that could help engineers design lighter, stronger materials for military, medical, and other applications.

Though mantis shrimp are relatively common, a lot about them isn’t. The colorful crustaceans have remarkable vision, unusually resilient armor, and the fastest punch on earth. When they strike, they swing out their dactyl clubs, armlike appendages normally held close to their bodies, at 80 kilometers per hour, accelerating faster than a .22-caliber bullet. Mantis shrimp use this mechanism to smash their often hard-shelled prey, and can do so as many as 50,000 times between molts without destroying their clubs.

Excerpted from AAAS, Science Now – by Gisela Telis – “Mantis Shrimp Smash”