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There is a species of shrimp that stuns its victims to death with extreme noise and is considered to be a major source of noise in the ocean.


It is referred to as the snapping shrimp, and despite its small size, it is comparable to the sperm whale and beluga whale as one of the loudest animals in the sea. The shrimp has a special claw that can shut so fast it creates a bubble that generates acoustic pressures of up to 80 kPa at 4 cm from the claw. 

As the bubble extends from the claw, it reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour and gets as loud as 218 decibels. So powerful is the pressure that one shot can kill a small fish.

If you read enough OMG Facts, you might be thinking of another bubble related fact recently posted. If so, the answer to the question you’re thinking is yes- the snap of these claws produces sonoluminescence from how fast it collapses the bubble. Still, the light produced here is of lower intensity than of normal sonoluminescence, and is invisible to the naked eye. 

Still, the snapping shrimp is the first known animal to be able to produce sonoluminescence. The bubble also gets so hot that it nearly reaches the temperature of the sun, at 4,700 degrees celsius. But what is the snap really used for? Generally for hunting and communication. The snapping shrimp will often lie in an obscured spot and snap once a fish swims by. Whether the snap killed the fish or simply stunned it, the shrimp pulls the fish in and feeds on it. 

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