ZAP’S FACTS!
SEA LIFE

A pistol shrimp's snap creates a bubble as hot as the surface of the Sun.

Its claw closes so fast it briefly boils the water and stuns fish from a distance.

2 min read
A pistol shrimp's snap creates a bubble as hot as the surface of the Sun.
THE FULL STORY

Pistol shrimp are small - usually less than 2 inches long - and they have one giant claw and one tiny claw. The giant claw isn’t for grabbing. It’s a weapon, and a very weird one.

When the shrimp wants to hunt, it cocks the big claw like a hammer and then snaps it shut at incredible speed. The snap is so fast that the water in front of the claw can’t fill in quickly enough, and a bubble of empty space forms for a split second. That’s called a cavitation bubble.

When the bubble collapses, it releases a shockwave, a flash of light, and a tiny pulse of heat that briefly reaches temperatures close to the surface of the Sun - around 4,700°C. The shockwave stuns or kills small fish nearby, so the shrimp barely has to chase them. The “gunshot” sound from huge colonies of pistol shrimp is loud enough that it confuses naval sonar systems.

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