The Real Power of the Pistol Shrimp

https://oceanconservancy.org/b...09/10/pistol-shrimp/




At first glance, the pistol shrimp might seem more Mr. Krabs than Butch Cassidy, but this small invertebrate has a power-packed punch. Sometimes overshadowed by the very powerful, very colorful mantis shrimp, it’s time that the sassy snapping shrimp gets the recognition it deserves.

Pistol shrimp, also known as snapping shrimp, are a crustacean in the family Alpheidae. Their two front claws are different sizes, with one being notably larger than the other. There are hundreds of species found all over the world, but most species are found in reefs and seagrass beds in temperate and tropical regions. They’re not very big, only reaching a few inches in size, but their large claws can grow to half its body length.

This large claw holds the pistol shrimp’s superpower. When a pistol shrimp senses prey is nearby, it will open the top part of its big claw, allowing some water to enter a small chamber in the crook of the claw. Then, when it clamps down, the pressure from a small plunger on the top claw forces the water out of the chamber. This happens so fast that it creates bubbles. And not just any bubbles: these bubbles can speed out at 60 miles per hour, fast enough to stun or kill the prey! When the bubbles pop, it makes a “snap” sound that gives these shrimp their name.

The bubbles are loud. Like, really loud. The snap of one recently-discovered species of pistol shrimp called Synalpheus pinkfloydi (named after something else that is also loud and very cool: Pink Floyd) can reach 210 decibels. That is louder than an actual gunshot, which is around 140 – 175 decibels. You can hear them for yourself by sticking your head below the water on a reef and listening for the “snap snap snap.”

The pistol shrimp’s mighty snap comes in handy for more than just lunch. Its powerful claw can deter predators or other competitors looking to take over the shrimp’s burrow. It also makes males more attractive to the ladies—larger claws suggest they are better mates.

And now you know!

Fried or boiled?

Mantis Shrimp

Kind of like the 10mm of crustaceans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW8NUCPLE1c

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NOCkid:
Mantis Shrimp

1 ... 2... 3.... DEATH

The Oatmeal did an amazing comic on the Mantis Shrimp. It is crazy what these things can do.

I will put the first two panels here, but the rest is very worth the click to his website:





You can see the rest of the comic here

Quagmire Shrimp

Although I enjoy thinking about these animal discoveries, I do wonder sometimes about the certainty of the claims.

If, for instance, we cannot observe light wavelengths having only three cones to differentiate, yet we have created in a basic computer system the 0-255 levels of red, green, and blue (RGB) that describe all colors in our computers, did we not effectively overcome our cone deficiency? If every pixel can be described as having some intensity from 0-255, in 24-bit color, we have nearly 17 million color possibilities. https://txwes.libguides.com/c.php?g=978475&p=7075536

In addition, underwater, the available light is very different (https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/ocean-depths/light-ocean). So, a shrimp having 16 cones to define color could have colors only within the bounds of wavelengths passing to the shrimp’s depth. These are likely shorter wavelengths, limiting any “color” one might name by any of the 16 cones.

However, underwater, white light (completely manmade, brought by divers or submersibles) does show a color palette on fish of great beauty. How any other fish might see that palette with non-white light having reduced wavelength availability is beyond me.

I believe it is important to avoid assertions that are based on extending what we know to other environments.

Sorry, didn't mean to completely derail the thread.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
"...these bubbles can speed out at 60 miles per hour, fast enough to stun or kill the prey!..."

Yes but, how do they taste???


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quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
If, for instance, we cannot observe light wavelengths having only three cones to differentiate, yet we have created in a basic computer system the 0-255 levels of red, green, and blue (RGB) that describe all colors in our computers, did we not effectively overcome our cone deficiency? If every pixel can be described as having some intensity from 0-255, in 24-bit color, we have nearly 17 million color possibilities. https://txwes.libguides.com/c.php?g=978475&p=7075536

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here. How does a computer monitor "overcome our cone deficiency?"

If a display can present a color your eyes can't see... how can you see it?

In general, computer displays are only capable of displaying a limited subset of the light our eyes are capable of perceiving. This is referred to as the "color gamut" of the monitor.

Also, the cones in the eye are a lot more complex than just “RGB.” While human eyes have three types of cones, they aren't "cones that only see red," "cones that only see blue," and "cones that only see green." The different types of cones respond to wide bands of light frequencies with a lot of overlap.



The peak response of the "blue cone" is actually violet, and the peak response of the "red cone" is actually yellow or yellow-green.

Your brain decodes the color of something by comparing the relative responses of the different types of cones. E.g., if all three cones respond about the same amount, that's light blue. A strong "green" response and medium "red" response is green. A strong "red" response and medium "green" response is orange. A medium "red" response and weak "green" response is red.

The cones provide full coverage for discriminating single frequencies of light over the entire human visual spectrum.

Note I said "single frequencies." For the most part, your eyes can't really tell the difference between light of a single frequency or light of multiple frequencies that combine to generate the same response in the cones.

This is why RGB displays work - by varying the strength of single-frequency red, green, and blue light, you can generate pretty much the same cone response as most of the frequencies in between those colors.

Having more different types of cones can extend the visual spectrum, allow greater discrimination between combinations of multiple frequencies of light, allow greater discrimination of small changes in frequency, or some combination of those.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
And now you know!

Fried or boiled?

This is what the waiter asks the mantis shrimp when it orders it’s human

Your pictures are better than in the article.

I'm fascinated with nature. I'm impressed this shrimp takes the symbiotic relationship a step further than the ones where predator fish come in to get their parasites removed by grooming fish.

quote:

Originally posted by sleepla8er:

Yes but, how do they taste???

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Talking about the Mantis shrimp:
They taste great! Had them several times while in Hong Kong for business. Would go to the fish markets on the docks and pick out your dinner from the live wells. They would fry these up with garlic and serve with noodles and a cream sauce (almost like an alfredo sauce). Very segmented and kind of hard to get to the meat without drawing some blood from the hard shell until you get your technique down. Oh so worth it.

Whew! For a minute there, I thought you was gonna say this was another water-living creature that would climb thru your pee-pee while you were swimming and attack your tasty jewels!