The shrimp with a bubble hotter than the sun
This tiny shrimp stuns its prey with a bubble hotter than the surface of the sun.
The short version
The pistol shrimp snaps its claw so fast it creates an exploding cavitation bubble that hits nearly 5,000°. The snap is loud enough to jam a submarine's sonar.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Pistol Shrimp snaps its claw fast enough to create a bubble nearly as hot as the surface of the sun.
- ✓The Pistol Shrimp makes a collapsing bubble that briefly reaches almost 5,000 degrees.
- ✓The Pistol Shrimp fires a shockwave loud enough to stun fish and crack glass.
- ✓The Pistol Shrimp can, in colonies, be loud enough to jam a submarine's sonar.
The full story
This tiny shrimp can stun its prey using a bubble that is hotter than the surface of the sun. Meet the pistol shrimp. It has one oversized claw that it snaps shut so unbelievably fast that it creates a tiny low-pressure bubble, and when that bubble instantly collapses, it briefly reaches almost five thousand degrees. That is nearly as hot as the surface of the sun, and it even gives off a small flash of light. The snap also makes a shockwave so loud that it can stun or kill small fish on the spot, and it can even crack aquarium glass. Whole colonies of them are loud enough to interfere with submarine sonar. It is basically a finger gun that genuinely works. Nature looked at a shrimp and handed it a sound cannon. Follow for more weird animals.
Watch the 45-second version
Pistol Shrimp gallery
