ugh. I ain't gonna order fried shrimp for dinner tonight.
November 18, 2008
Anonymous said...
When the bubbles responsible for that popping sound burst, their temperature approaches the temperature of the sun's surface. It's a phenomenon called cavitation and it's why boat propeller blades pit so rapidly.
snapping shrimp like these are responsible for almost all of the (non-anthropogenic) noise in the ocean. It's so omnipresent that there are actually papers and papers by people studying things like whale vocalizations on how to effectively separate recordings of the animal of interest from the huge din created by the shrimp. None of the methods really even work! It's been proposed by some that the noise is so loud that other animal vocalizations have adapted to occupy frequency ranges where the snapping isn't so bad. Something like the "noisy Americans on the subway" of the world, I suppose!
November 20, 2008
Anonymous said...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc
Link showing pistol shrimp in action
November 20, 2008
Anonymous said...
there is a rock band named pistol shrimp! out of boston. you can find them on myspace
That's amazing info, Morgan. It's amazing what an impact even little creatures can have.
Great video, hellphyre.
Jerry, I'm so glad someone came up with the band name. Maybe they'll tour out west...
November 25, 2008
When fisherman Tim Bailey caught a pair of inch-long shrimp in the waters off Cornwall, UK, little did he know that he had made a rare discovery.
While transporting the shrimp to Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, he kept hearing popping noises coming from the shrimps' container, as if someone were popping bubble wrap. Curator Matt Slater was able to identify the pair of shrimp as a species of pistol shrimp. It was a rare discovery, because these crustaceans are normally found in more tropical waters.
But what was that popping sound? They're pistol shrimp (yet another great name for a rock band). They are able to click their claws in such a way that they can emit a 218 decibel sound: louder than a Concorde jet or a sperm whale (or, dare I say, a pistol?).
Photo source: DailyMail.co.uk [Image]
(I know, I know. The pistol shrimp isn't exactly ugly, but crustaceans don't usually qualify as cute, do they?)
They use that pistol crack to stun their prey, which normally consists of even smaller crustaceans and plankton. Once stunned (pistol whipped?), the prey are attacked by the shrimp. The curator eventually had to separate the pair of shrimp because they kept stunning each other. Can you imagine being a dad or a mom pistol shrimp and trying to keep your kids from constantly stunning each other? Oh, the chaos.
Pistol shrimp (of which there are 600 species) have been known to keep yachtsmen awake at night, as the yachtsmen try to sleep in their yachts, but can't because of all the popping going on beneath them. I feel so bad for you, Mr. Yachtsman. What with you having a fancy yacht and not being able to sleep on your fancy yacht. We each have our burdens to bear, don't we?
Thanks for the article, Liz.
posted by Raging Wombat at 12:05 PM on Nov 16, 2008
12 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formugh. I ain't gonna order fried shrimp for dinner tonight.
November 18, 2008
When the bubbles responsible for that popping sound burst, their temperature approaches the temperature of the sun's surface. It's a phenomenon called cavitation and it's why boat propeller blades pit so rapidly.
Mantis shrimp make use of cavitation as well.
November 18, 2008
I'm glad they're not as big as, say, lobsters. Or dolphins. Wait, I just came up with a great idea for a horror movie!
November 18, 2008
Pistol Shrimp, when snapping your fingers just doesn't cut it.
These seem like they could be an interesting addition to a fish tank in the in-laws bedroom. Lol. =P
November 18, 2008
I'm so glad to see that someone besides me sees rock band names all over the place.
November 19, 2008
If you're seeking for MANY weirds animals, here's the place!
http://www.spectacular-planet.com
It's amazing!
November 19, 2008
Crustaceans most certainly can be cute!
November 19, 2008
You would think that yacht owners could afford some earplugs!
Great tidbit, anonymous! Cool.
November 19, 2008
snapping shrimp like these are responsible for almost all of the (non-anthropogenic) noise in the ocean. It's so omnipresent that there are actually papers and papers by people studying things like whale vocalizations on how to effectively separate recordings of the animal of interest from the huge din created by the shrimp. None of the methods really even work! It's been proposed by some that the noise is so loud that other animal vocalizations have adapted to occupy frequency ranges where the snapping isn't so bad. Something like the "noisy Americans on the subway" of the world, I suppose!
November 20, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc
Link showing pistol shrimp in action
November 20, 2008
there is a rock band named pistol shrimp! out of boston. you can find them on myspace
November 22, 2008
That's amazing info, Morgan. It's amazing what an impact even little creatures can have.
Great video, hellphyre.
Jerry, I'm so glad someone came up with the band name. Maybe they'll tour out west...
November 25, 2008