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Mantis Shrimp

Despite their name, mantis shrimp are not true shrimp but a type of stomatopod: a relative of crabs and lobsters that has been on Earth for over 400 million years. There are more than 400 different species of mantis shrimp.

Peacock mantis shrimp—also called harlequin or painted mantis shrimp—are arguably the best-known of the family. These critters get their name from their kaleidoscope shell—like a peacock's tail—and their hinged forearms which resemble that of a praying mantis and are kept tucked away until the moment of attack. These solitary, aggressive animals are famous for their ferocious punch—as fast as a bullet and strong enough to snap a crab's claw.

Mantis shrimp live in warm, shallow waters

Mantis Shrimp Throw Deadly Punches Just 9 Days After Birth

Baby animals are often adorable, but this belies the fact that many are born with some pretty intense survival skills. This is especially true for creatures that don't nurture their young since newborns have to fend for themselves as soon as they are brought into the world. A new study of the infamous mantis shrimp reveals that for many species, newborn mantis shrimp pack a serious punch within about a week of hatching, though their strength is nothing compared to that of their parents.

The research, which was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, looked at the larvae of several different species of mantis shrimp and found that many exhibit incredible abilities as little as nine days after hatching. Mantis shrimp are famous for their incredible punching and spearing abilities. Adult mantis shrimp can accelerate their folded appendages so fast that they create an air pocket when they punch. As it turns out, that ability is present in even the youngest mantis shrimp.

Mantis shrimp are capable of their incredible feats of fisticuffs thanks to a spring-like mechanism built into their front legs. The exoskeleton of the shrimp actually deforms, holding stored energy and then releasing it like a rubber band all at once as soon as the shrimp decides it's time to go hands-on. Because of the transparent nature of especially young mantis shrimp, the researchers were able to study this mechanism in great detail, but it doesn't answer all of the questions that scientists have about the various species.

In studying the tiny shrimp, the authors of the paper reveal that juvenile mantis shrimp as small as a grain of rice possess the same punching ability as their parents. They may use this in order to subdue tiny prey which they must consume to grow bigger and become a real heavyweight knockout artist. However, the speed at which the baby shrimp punch isn't anywhere near the power they will eventually have, which is something of a mystery for scientists.

Because the baby shrimp are smaller but use a similar spring mechanism in their legs, you'd think that they might punch even faster, but with less overall force, when compared to the adults. That doesn't seem to be the case, and the research team offers a few guesses as to why that might be.

"Theoretically, they should be producing the highest acceleration but we don't find that," Jacob Harrison of Duke University, lead author of the work, said in a statement. "There are limitations to these spring and latch structures that we don't fully understand, but whenever biology moves away from theoretical models it highlights some pretty interesting areas for us to learn."

One possibility is that water resistance is simply too strong to overcome for the smaller shrimp, reducing the speed at which they punch. Another theory is that the shrimp's spring-actuated punching power is enhanced as it grows due to chances in its exoskeleton or other parts.

Scientists Make The Next Generation Of Ultra-Strong Material Using The Mantis Shrimp

Scientists from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), and Purdue University were inspired by multi-colored crustacean called a mantis shrimp to develop a super strong composite material that has a wide array of applications—such as airplane cabins, body armor, and event football helmets.

The material's inspiration is, to be more specific, the shrimp's unique appendage.

This marine crustacean has a fist-like claw called a dactyl-club, which it uses to smash the shells of its prey in order to eat them. Ultimately, the mantis shrimp can punch at about 80 kilometers per hour, making it capable of obliterating its hard shelled prey by striking it more than 50,000 times at more than 10,000 times the force of gravity. After which, the small bubbles emitted will cause the water around them to boil, releasing an unbelievable amount of energy through a process called cavitation— something that is so destructive, it can remove the stainless steel from any boat propellers that are coated with it.

Researchers have described the club to have a herringbone structure. This structure allows the mantis shrimp to deliver high impacts without shattering its own claw in the process.

The herringbone structure of the outer layer (impact region) of the mantis shrimp dactyl club. Credit: UC Riverside

The current study is lead by a Multi-University Research initiative spearheaded by David Kasailus, a professor of Energy Innovation in the College of Engineering at URC, and is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The design features the herringbone structure as the outer layer of the composite material called the impact region. This outer layer is crack-resistant a and is made out of crystalline calcium phosphate which surrounds the organic fibers within it. The outermost layer of the impact region is made up of a thin particle coating that delocalizes any applied stress on the material which prevents it from shattering.

Kisailus and his team believe that the herringbone structure and its impact-resistant qualities taken from the mantis shrimp as applied to other different materials can be translated to many real-world applications. He and his team also laud 3D printing technology, as this enables them to translate their research into practical applications faster and easier.

In fact, the team was able to produce a helmet that had the stress-delocalizing outermost coating and the shatterproof layer under it through a 3D printer.

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