7 Fun Facts about Pistol Shrimp 🦐

Have you ever heard of the pistol shrimp? They have to be one of the most amazing animals I had never heard of! Here's some fun facts about them:

1. Did you know that pistol shrimp can create sonic blasts louder than a gunshot? They are known for having asymmetric claws. Their larger claw is very specialized, and they can snap it so fast that it creates a bubble that can travel up to 60 mph and, when it pops, creates a shockwave that's louder than a gunshot! For comparison, a gunshot is usually around 170 decibels, but the pistol shrimp's pop can reach up to 210 decibels! The pressure is enough that it can kill small fish or even break glass.

2. Hot bubbles! When the bubble from the pistol shrimp's snapping claw pops, it reaches temperatures up to 8,600°F! That's almost as hot as the surface temperature of the Sun, at 9,930°F!

3. The pistol shrimp's snaps are an example of sonoluminescence! It's snap is so powerful that it creates flashes of light!

4. They're noisy! When pistol shrimp live in colonies, their snapping can interfere with sonar and other underwater communications. In fact, they're considered by some to be a major source of sound in the ocean!

5. As powerful as they are, they have extremely poor eyesight. As a result, they often have to form symbiotic relationships with other creatures, especially goby fish, which can act as their eyes. When the goby fish see a threat, they alert the pistol shrimp with a special movement of their tail.

6. Their claws regenerate! If a pistol shrimp ever loses its snapping claw, its smaller claw will grow into a new snapping claw, while the shrimp regenerates a new, smaller claw.

7. Finally, pistol shrimp mate for life!

There’s a lot of fascinating creatures hidden in the ocean!